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OUTLINES 

OF  AN 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


OUTLINES 

OF  AN 

INTRODUCTION  to  the 
OLD   TESTAMENT 


JOHN  WALTER  BEARDSLEE,  D.D. 

PROFESSOR    IN    THE   WESTERN    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY    OF  THE    REFORMED   CHURCH 
IN    AMERICA.      AUTHOR   OF  "THE  BIBLE  AMONG   THE   NATIONS" 


Chicago  New  York  Toronto 

Fleming  H.   Revell   Company 

London        ^        Edinburgh 
MCMIII 


Copyright,  1903,  by 
FI.EMING  H.  REVEI.L  COMPANY 


Chicago:  63  Washington  Street 
New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Toronto:  27  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:     30    St.    Mary   Street 


To  thie  man)}  students  wl^ose  welfare  has  prompted 
me  to  man}>  an  hour  of  study,  whose  good  will  and 
appreciation  have  been  my  constant  reward  and  through 
wliom  I  am  k^ppY  to  tliink  I  am  multiplying  my  own 
feeble  efforts  to  preach  the  Gospel  I  love  so  well,  I 
gladly  dedicate  this  little  book. 


PREFACE 

These  Outlines  are  the  outgrowth  of  fifteen  years  of 
study  and  teaching.  They  are  designed  simply  to 
indicate  the  lines  along  which  study  is  demanded  if 
one  is  to  understand  the  teachings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. No  effort  has  been  made  to  present  an  exhaust- 
ive review  of  the  ideas  which  have  been  advanced  by 
others  in  regard  to  these  remarkable  books,  or  to  give 
completeness  to  the  views  of  the  author.  Only  such 
points  as  seem  necessary  to  a  correct  understanding 
of  the  text  are  presented  and  these  are  stated  in  the 
briefest  form,  with  such  references  as  may  guide  the 
way  to  further  study. 

If  the  position  here  taken  seem  conservative,  it  is 
not  because  the  writer  has  ignored  the  later  criticism 
or  underestimates  its  value,  but  because  the  newer 
ideas  do  not  seem  to  be  sufficiently  established  to 
demand  the  abandonment  of  the  older.  Great  gain 
has  already  come  from  the  learned  and  laborious 
investigations  of  the  new  school  of  criticism  and  we 
hope  for  still  richer  fruitage  in  the  future,  but  the 
results  thus  far  secured  are  too  vague  to  become  a 
satisfactory  basis  for  the  interpretation  of  Scripture. 

The  leading  objections  to  the  work  now  being 
done  under  the  name  of  the  Higher  Criticism  may  be 
summed  up  briefly  as  follows:  The  primary  laws  of 
exegesis  are  too  easily  violated    too  much  importance 

7 


8  Preface 

is  attached  to  minute  and  unessential  details,  the  integ- 
rity of  the  text  is  not  sufficiently  guarded,  constant 
pressure  is  put  upon  the  text  to  make  it  yield  a  result 
in  harmony  with  a  preconceived  theory,  and  the  sub- 
jective impulses  of  the  critic  have  too  much  influence 
in  determining  his  conclusions. 

We  have  presented  their  arguments  on  the  more 
important  issues,  giving  them  as  nearly  as  possible  in 
their  own  terms  and  as  found  in  their  latest  books. 
When  they  have  finished  their  work  no  one  will  hesi- 
tate to  acknowledge  its  value. 

The  brevity  of  the  study  prevents  much  direct  quo- 
tation of  individual  authors,  and  no  attempt  has  been 
made  to  trace  each  statement  to  its  source.  The  more 
important  references  have  been  acknowledged,  and 
the  author  would  express  his  general  indebtedness  to 
the  numerous  works  already  before  the  public,  and  he 
wishes  also  to  say  that  the  only  reason  for  his  publish- 
ing this  volume  is  that  he  does  not  find  among  them  all 
one  which  recognizes  the  latest  thought  and  is  suitably 
arranged  for  systematic  study.  Seminary  work  is  now 
so  crowded  as  to  demand  the  utmost  brevity  and  clear- 
ness of  statement. 

Special  attention  has  been  given  to  a  careful  analysis 
of  the  contents  of  the  different  books. 

At  the  cost  of  a  seeming  repetition  the  references  to 
helpful  literature  are  appended  to  each  book,  and  in 
the  selection  of  such  works  variety  rather  than  com- 
pleteness has  governed  the  choice. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Old  Testament 

Its  Name 15 

The  Text 15 

Divisions  of  the  Text 17 

The  Torah  or  Law 

Its  Name 19 

Its  Scope 20 

Its  Author 20 

Its  Sources 29 

Outline  of  Genesis 32 

Outline  of  Exodus 35 

Outline  of  Leviticus 37 

Outline  of  Numbers 39 

Outline  of  Deuteronomy 42 

The  Nebiim  or  Prophets 

The  Former  Prophets 46 

The  Latter  Prophets 47 

Their  Chronology 48 

I.  The  Former  Prophets 50 

Joshua 50 

The  Name 50 

Position  of  the  Book 51 

Its  Scope 51 

Analysis 52 

Literary  Features 52 

Authorship 53 

Religious  Value  of  the  Book 54 

Literature  55 

Judges 55 

The  Name 55 

Contents 56 

Chronology 57 

Authorship 58 

9 


10  Coiitents 

PAGE 

Value  of  the  Book 59 

Literature   59 

Samuel 59 

Its  Name 59 

Contents 60 

Authorship 61 

Design 63 

Samuel  and  Chronicles 63 

Literature 64 

Kings 65 

The  Name 65 

Contents 65 

Characteristics 65 

Sources 67 

Chronology 68 

Authorship 69 

Literature   70 

2.  The  Latter  Prophets 70 

Isaiah 70 

The  Name 70 

Position  among  the  Books 71 

Conditions  under  Which  Written 71 

Contents 73 

Authorship 77 

Literature 81 

Jeremiah 82 

The  Name 82 

Conditions  under  Which  Written 83 

Peculiarities  of  His  Book 84 

Style 85 

Doctrinal  Teachings 86 

Contents 87 

Literature 89 

Ezekiel 89 

The  Name 89 

Date 89 

Characteristics go 

Contents 92 

Literature 94 

Hosea 95 

The  Name 95 

Political  Conditions 95 


Contents  1 1 

PAGE 

The  Text 96 

Contents 96 

Characteristics  98 

Literature 99 

Joel 99 

The  Name 99 

Date 100 

Analysis loi 

Peculiarities 102 

Literature    103 

Amos 103 

The  Name 103 

Style    104 

Date 105 

Contents io5 

Characteristic  Teachings 106 

Literature   io7 

Obadiah io7 

The  Name io7 

Date 107 

Unity 108 

Contents 109 

Literature   no 

Jonah   no 

The  Name no 

Contents no 

Authorship m 

Interpretation 113 

.    Literature n4 

Micah "4 

The  Name "4 

Date "4 

Unity 115 

Style 115 

Contents "5 

Characteristics 1 17 

Literature "7 

Nahum n7 

The  Name 117 

Date n8 

Style 118 

Contents "9 

Literature n9 

Habakkuk "9 

The  Name "9 


12  Contents 

PAGE 

Date I20 

Unity 121 

Contents 121 

Literature 123 

Zephaniah 123 

The  Name 123 

Date 123 

Unity 123 

Style  and  Teaching 124 

Contents 1 24 

Literature 125 

Haggai 125 

The  Name 125 

Genuineness  and  Date 125 

Style  and  Thought 126 

Contents 126 

Literature 127 

Zechariah 127 

The  Name 127 

Unity 128 

Teaching  of  the  Book 130 

Contents 131 

Literature 133 

Malachi 133 

The  Name 133 

Date 134 

Style 134 

Teaching i35 

Contents I35 

Literature 136 

The  Kethubim  or  Writings 

Classification  of  the  Books i37 

Its  Formation i37 

Features  of  Hebrew  Poetry 138 

Its  Extent i39 

Its  Tone 139 

Its  External  Form 140 

Literature 142 

The  Psalms 142 

The  Name 142 

Position 143 

Structure I43 

The  Inscriptions 145 


Co7itents  1 3 

PAGE 

Authorship 148 

Teachings 151 

Literature   154 

Proverbs 154 

The  Name 154 

Analysis 155 

Age  and  Authorship 156 

Literature   158 

Job 158 

The  Name 158 

Text 159 

Authorship 159 

Teachings 161 

Structure 162 

Integrity  of  the  Book 165 

Literature   167 

Song  of  Songs 168 

The  Name  168 

Authorship 168 

Analysis 169 

Form 169 

Design 171 

Literature 1 73 

Ruth 173 

The  Name  and  Contents 173 

Position  of  the  Book 174 

Date 174 

Purpose 176 

Literature 176 

Lamentations 176 

The  Name 176 

Position 176 

Contents 177 

Structure 177 

Author 178 

Literature 180 

Ecclesiastes 1 80 

The  Name 180 

Position 181 


14  Contents 

PAGE 

Contents i8i 

Authorship 183 

Religious  Value  of  the  Book 185 

Literature 185 

Esther 186 

Position 1 86 

Contents 186 

Credibility  187 

Date 188 

Author 189 

Teachings 189 

Literature 190 

Daniel 190 

The  Name 190 

Position igi 

Contents 192 

Origin  193 

Design 200 

Literature 201 

Ezra,  Nehemiah 201 

The  Name 201 

Position    201 

Relation  of  the  Books  to  Each  Other  and  to  Chron- 
icles    202 

Contents 202 

Peculiarities  of  Structure 204 

Authorship 205 

Value  of  These  Books 208 

Literature 208 

Chronicles 208 

The  Name 208 

Position 209 

Contents 209 

Historical  Character 211 

Authorship  and  Date 214 

Literature 215 


Outlines   of  an    Introduction   to 
The   Old   Testament 


THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

I.  Name 

The  name,  Old  Testament,  is  applied  to  that  portion 
of  our  Bible  which  has  come  to  us  from  the  Jews.  By 
them  it  was  called  "The  Books,"  Dan.  9:2;  'The  Holy 
Books,"  I  Mac.  12:9;  "The  Books  of  the  Law,"  i  Mac. 
1:56,  or  "A  Book  of  the  Covenant"  R.  V.,  I  Mac.  1:57. 
In  the  New  Testament  it  is  called  "  Scripture," 
2  Tim.  3:16,  or  "The  Scriptures,"  Matt.  21:42; 
"The  Sacred  Writings,"  2  Tim.  3:15;  "Law,"  John 
10:34.  Among  the  early  Christian  writers  we  find  the 
term  "The  Old  Testament"  or  "The  Old  Covenant." 
The  Latin  translation  of  the  Greek  word  {diatheke), 
employed  in  2  Cor.  3:14,  is  Testamentiim,  out  of  which 
has  been  formed  our  English  word  Testament,  which, 
although  not  very  accurate,  has  become  so  familiar 
that  its  use  is  generally  retained. 

n.  Text 
The   Old  Testament   is  written   in   Hebrew,  except 
Dan.    2:4   to   7:28,   Jer.    io:ii,   Ezra   4:8   to  6:18,    and 

15 


1 6      Oiitlmes  of  a?i  Ifitrodtictiofi  to  the  Old  Testament 

7:12-26,  which  are  written  in  Aramaic,  a  language 
closely  allied  to  the  Hebrew,  both  belonging  to  the 
great  Semitic  group,  different  dialects  of  which  were 
used  in  Arabia  and  among  the  Phoenicians.  Originally 
the  Hebrew  was  written  without  vowels;  these  not 
being  added  until  about  one  thousand  years  after  the 
advent  of  Christ. 

For  the  preservation  of  the  text  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment we  depend  on  the  Hebrew  Manuscripts,  whose 
accuracy  we  can  test  by  comparing  them  with  the 
Greek  version  made  while  yet  the  Hebrew  was  a  liv- 
ing language,  about  250  B.  C.  Much  help  may  also 
be  found  by  comparing  them  with  the  Samaritan  Pen- 
tateuch and  with  the  Greek  translations  made  by  Sym- 
machus,  Aquila,  and  Theodotion,  and  with  the  Old 
Latin  Version   made  in  the  second  Christian  century. 

The  oldest  Hebrew  Manuscripts  are  one  containing 
the  Pentateuch,  820-850  A.  D.,  and  one  containing  the 
Prophets,  916  A.  D.,  the  former  kept  in  the  British 
Museum  and  the  latter  in  St.  Petersburg. 

These  Manuscripts  were  originally  written  on  parch- 
ment or  papyrus,  prepared  in  long  scrolls  on  which  the 
text  was  written  crosswise  in  columns,  and  these  scrolls 
were  rolled  when  not  in  use.  Separate  rolls  were  made 
for  such  parts  as  were  used  in  their  public  service. 
This  form  is  still  preserved  in  those  copies  read  in  the 
Jewish  synagogues.  Later  the  Manuscripts  were 
arranged  in  book  form,  the  book  sometimes  contain- 
ing the  entire  Old  Testament,  but  more  frequently 
each  division  or  book  having  a  volume  to  itself. 

The  small  number  of  old  Manuscripts  and  their  sub- 
stantial agreement  has  occasioned  much  comment. 
Some  ascribe  it  to  the  determined  effort  of  the  Jews 


The  Old  Testament  1 7 

to  secure  a  standard  text  by  destroying  such  Manu- 
scripts as  were  not  in  agreement  with  their  ideas;  others 
see  in  the  fact  an  evidence  of  the  extreme  care  exer- 
cised in  securing  only  correct  copies,  very  severe  rules 
being  observed  to  obtain  accurate  work  by  the  tran- 
scribers. There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Jews  have 
ever  sought  to  corrupt  the  text,  but  very  much  to 
prove  their  earnest  efforts  to  preserve  its  purity. 


III.  Divisions  of  the  Text 

The  Jews  maintained  a  two-fold  division  of  the  text, 
one  general,  into  The  Torah,  or  Law,  The  Prophets ^  and 
The  Kethubint,  or  Miscellaneous  Writings;  the  other 
into  the  individual  books  which  we  still  recognize. 

The  three-fold  division  is  based  on  the  character 
and  position  of  the  writers;  the  Torah  being  all 
regarded  as  the  work  of  Moses,  the  Prophets  as  the 
work  of  men  who  gave  themselves  wholly  to  teaching 
and  proclaiming  the  will  of  God,  and  the  Kethubim  as 
the  writings  of  men  prepared  by  God  to  produce  them, 
but  whose  life-work  lay  in  other  fields,  as  David  the 
king,  Daniel  the  statesman.  This  three-fold  order  is 
not  recognized  in  the  Septuagint  or  in  our  English 
Bible,  where  the  arrangement  is  more  topical,  but  in 
the  New  Testament  it  is  frequently  referred  to  (Luke 
24:44.) 

According  to  the  Jewish  numbering  there  were 
twenty-two  or  twenty-four  books  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Josephus  {Cofitra  Apiofi,  L,  8)  says  there  were 
twenty-two,  which  he  divides  as  follows:  The  five 
books  of  Moses,  thirteen  prophetical  writings,  and 
four  books  with  hymns  and  precepts  for  practical  life. 


1 8      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

Other  Jewish  writers  make  twenty-four,  counting  Ruth 
and  Lamentations  as  separate  books,  while  Josephus 
seems  to  have  included  them  with  Judges  and  Jere- 
miah. This  number  is  based  on  the  number  of  letters 
in  the  Hebrew  alphabet. 

In  our  English  Bible  the  thirty-nine  books  are 
obtained  by  considering  Ruth  and  Lamentations  as 
independent  books,  dividing  the  books  of  Samuel, 
Kings,  and  Chronicles  each  into  two  books,  separating 
Ezra  from  Nehemiah  and  counting  the  Minor  Prophets 
as  twelve,  while  the  Jews  reckoned  them  as  one. 

The  order  in  which  the  individual  books  appear  in 
the  Hebrew  Bible  has  been  quite  uniform,  although  a 
few  changes  are  noted.  The  books  of  the  Torah  have 
always  maintained  the  order  in  which  they  now  appear 
in  our  English  Bible.  Among  the  Prophets  Isaiah 
sometimes  follows  Ezekiel  and  sometimes  is  inserted 
between  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  but  generally  stands 
first,  as  in  English.  Among  the  Kethubim  the  varia- 
tions in  the  order  of  the  books  are  very  numerous. 

In  our  examination  of  these  books  we  follow  the 
order  usually  found  in  our  printed  Hebrew  Bibles. 


THE  TORAH  OR  THE  LAW 

I.   Name 

The  Hebrew  name  given  to  the  first  five  books  of 
the  Old  Testament  is  ToraJi,  Law,  Neh.  Z\2^  or  more 
fully,  'This  Book  of  the  Law,"  Deut.  31:26.  This  is 
sometimes  modified  so  as  to  read  'The  Book  of  the 
Law  of  Moses,"  Josh.  8:31;  or  simply  "The  Book  of 
Moses,"  Ezra  6:18.  The  later  Jews  frequently  speak  of 
it  as  the  Five-fifths  of  the  Law,  in  allusion  to  the  fact 
that  the  entire  Pentateuch  is  divided  into  five  books. 
The  term  Pentateuch  comes  to  us  through  the  Latin 
from  the  Greek,  being  the  name  given  this  portion  of 
the  Bible  in  the  Alexandrian  or  Septuagint  version, 
and  meaning  the  five-fold  book. 

Although  the  Pentateuch  is  now  divided  into  five 
books,  there  are  many  indications  that  it  was  originally 
one  connected  work.  Exodus,  Leviticus,  and  Num- 
bers are  connected  to  the  books  before  them  by  the 
conjunction  and,  as  if  they  simply  continued  the  nar- 
rative of  the  former  book.  But  on  the  other  hand 
there  is  an  individuality  about  each  part  which  might 
easily  explain  their  separate  existence  from  the  begin- 
ning. It  is  certain  that  Josephus  {Contra  Apion  L,  8) 
mentions  the  division  into  five  books,  and  it  was  recog- 
nized by  the  Septuagint  translators,  250  B.  C.  This  is 
also  probably  the  occasion  of  the  five-fold  division  of 
the  Book  of  Psalms  in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  a  division 
now  recognized  in  our  Revised  Version. 

19 


20      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

II.  Scope 

The  single  design  of  the  Pentateuch  is  to  explain  the 
origin  and  religion  of  the  Jewish  people.  To  do  this 
it  follows  two  lines,  historical  and  religious. 

Historically  it  traces  the  origin  of  the  world  as  pre- 
paratory to  the  advent  of  man  and  then  tells  of  man's 
history  down  to  the  deluge.  From  that  point  the  field 
of  observation  is  contracted  so  as  to  cover  only  the 
origin  and  history  of  the  Jews  until  they  are  ready  to 
enter  Canaan. 

The  religious  development  of  the  people  is  carried 
along  with  the  historical.  We  learn  of  man's  crea- 
tion, how  sin  entered  with  its  disastrous  results,  and 
how  God  revealed  Himself  to  the  patriarchs  and  then 
to  Moses,  providing  a  well-organized  form  of  worship 
and  revealing  the  gracious  purpose  of  God  in  provid- 
ing salvation  for  His  people. 

Although  these  two  currents  flow  along  side  by  side, 
there  is  such  perfect  subordination  of  both  to  the  one 
grand  purpose  for  which  the  book  was  written  that  its 
unity  has  never  been  successfully  assailed.  In  its 
present  form  it  betrays  so  plainly  the  presence  of  one 
mind  that  we  cannot  conceive  that  the  five  books  have 
been  written  independently  and  then  for  convenience 
brought  together. 

III.  Author 

The  question  as  to  the  authorship  of  the  Pentateuch 
is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  determine  of  all  those 
connected  with  Old  Testament  criticism.  Against  the 
traditional  view,  which  ascribes  it  wholly  to  Moses, 
stands  the  radical  criticism  which  claims  that  the  Pen- 


The  Tor  ah  or  the  Law  21 

tateuch,  in  its  present  form  at  least,  is  the  gradual 
accumulation  of  ages  long  subsequent  to  the  time  of 
Moses  and  having  no  separate  existence  until  after  the 
exile. 

From  a  very  early  period  doubts  were  expressed  as 
to  the  Mosaic  origin  of  such  passages  as  the  narrative 
of  the  death  of  Moses,  but  not  until  the  seventeenth 
century  did  these  assaults  assume  a  very  serious  form. 
In  1753  Astruc,  a  Roman  Catholic  physician  in  France, 
issued  the  first  volume  of  a  series  of  assaults  against 
the  Mosaic  origin  of  the  Pentateuch,  which  have  been 
growing  rapidly  in  numbers  and  in  fierceness,  until 
almost  nothing  has  been  left  without  challenge.  All 
such  critics  contend  that  the  Pentateuch  is  a  composite 
work,  put  together  from  different  documents  by  a  suc- 
cession of  editors  who,  in  succeeding  ages,  have  sought 
to  give  completeness  to  their  work.  They  claim  that 
it  did  not  assume  anything  like  its  present  form  until 
the  period  following  the  exile,  when  the  priestly  influ- 
ence gained  the  supremacy  and  the  Levitical  legisla- 
tion was  skillfully  connected  with  a  historical  statement 
to  give  it  greater  authority. 

Their  more  important  reasons  are  as  follows: 

1.  Unnecessary  repetitions,  as  in  the  account  of  the 
creation  in  Genesis,  first  and  second  chapters;  three 
repetitions  of  the  story  of  the  laughter  which  occa- 
sioned the  naming  of  Isaac,  Gen.  17:17,  18:12,  21:6,  7; 
the  laws  in  regard  to  the  burnt  offering  found  in  Lev. 
I  and  repeated  in  chapter  22:i7ff. 

2.  Frequent  discrepancies  and  inconsistencies,  as  in 
the  account  of  the  flood.  Gen.  7  and  8;  and  the  mate- 
rials for  building  an  altar  in  Ex.  20:24  and  27:1-8. 

3.  Want  of  continuity.     The  history  of  Noah,  they 


22      Otiili?ies  of  ail  bitrodnctioii  to  the  Old  Testament 

tell  us,  is  strangely  confused,  and  the  Song  of  Moses, 
in  Deuteronomy,  is  out  of  place. 

4.  Differences  of  style  and  conception,  as  seen  in 
the  creation  story  and  the  statements  of  Ex.  4:10-17 
and  Num.  12:3  in  regard  to  the  character  of  Moses, 
compared  with  his  eloquence  in  Deuteronomy. 

5.  Long  periods,  especially  in  the  times  succeeding 
Moses,  which  show  no  evidence  of  the  practical  opera- 
tion of  such  a  law. 

These  difficulties  have  arisen,  according  to  these 
critics,  from  the  fact  that  different  documents  were 
used  by  successive  redactors  who  were  so  careless  or 
unskilled  that  they  did  not  observe  the  contradictions 
or  did  not  know  how  to  correct  them. 

The  difficulties  connected  with  such  criticism  arise 
chiefly  from  the  fact  that  it  is  so  largely  subjective, 
and  its  weakness  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  conclusions 
of  one  critic  are  set  aside  by  the  next,  so  that  the 
course  of  this  method  of  criticism  is  marked  by  an 
almost  innumerable  number  of  theories  which  have 
been  cast  aside  and  now  serve  only  as  skeletons  mark- 
ing the  path  along  which  the  critics  have  passed. 

We  may  perhaps  sum  up  the  general  conclusions  of 
the  school,  so  far  as  at  present  defined  and  agreed  upon 
by  themselves,  in  the  statement  that  the  Pentateuch  is 
composed  of  certain  more  or  less  independent  docu- 
ments, dealing  largely  with  the  same  series  of  events, 
but  composed  at  different  periods  or  under  different 
auspices,  and  afterward  revised  and  combined  so  as 
to  form  the  book  as  it  now  exists.  (Hastings,  Die.  of 
the  Bible  II.,  365.) 

In  favor  of  the  Mosaic  origin  of  the  book  we  sub- 
mit the  following: 


The  ToraJi  or  the  Law  23 

1.  In  the  New  Testament  it  is  uniformly  ascribed  to 
Moses.  Christ  calls  it  "The  Book  of  Moses,"  Mark 
12:26,  and  it  is  alluded  to  by  Paul,  2  Cor.  3:15,  by 
James,  Acts  15:21,  and  by  Luke,  24:27.  Christ  says 
Moses  gave  the  Law,  John  7:19,  and  in  Mark  10:4,  5 
that  Moses  wrote  the  Law,  as  also  in  John  5:46,  47. 
If  we  say  that  Christ  here  simply  accommodates  Him- 
self to  popular  opinion,  we  make  use  of  an  assumption 
which  generally  applied  would  lead  to  disastrous 
results.  Christ's  apparent  reason  for  the  mention  of 
the  name  of  Moses  is  the  great  respect  the  Jews  had 
for  that  name,  and  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  He 
would  try  to  enforce  an  argument  by  pleading  as  a 
fact  what  He  knew  to  be  a  fiction. 

On  this  point  Canon  Liddon  says  {The  Worth  of  the 
Old  Testame?it,  p.  12):  "His  (Christ's)  authority  is  as 
vital  an  element  in  the  settlement  of  controverted  mat- 
ters respecting  the  Old  Testament  as  is  the  science  of 
language  or  the  science  of  history.  .  .  .  The  appeal 
to  Him  in  these  Old  Testament  questions  really  cor- 
responds to  a  reference  to  an  axiom  in  mathematics, 
or  to  a  first  principle  in  morals."  And  Abp.  W.  Smith 
{The  Book  of  Moses,  or  the  Pentateuch  in  Its  Atithorship, 
p.25ff.)  shows  that  Christ's  reference  to  the  Book  of 
Moses  could  have  but  one  meaning,  namely  to  assert 
directly  that  Moses  wrote  it. 

2.  The  Pentateuch  claims  for  itself,  in  part  at  least, 
a  Mosaic  origin.  In  Ex.  24:3,  4  we  read  that  Moses 
came  from  the  presence  of  Jehovah  and  told  the 
people  what  God  had  said  to  him  and  then  wrote  all 
the  words.  Admitting  for  the  present  that  these  words 
refer  not  to  the  completed  book  of  the  law,  as  the 
Jews  have  always  known  it,  but  only  to  Chs.  20  to  23 


24      Outli7ies  of  an  hitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

immediately  preceding,  a  point  by  no  means  conclu- 
sively shown,  they  do  at  least  show  that  these  laws, 
which  confessedly  are  among  the  most  important  in 
the  Pentateuch,  were  written  by  Moses  himself.  Again 
in  Ex.  34:27  Jehovah  directs  Moses  to  write  these 
words.  Looking  at  the  context  we  find  that  these 
words  must  include  at  least  the  legislation  included  in 
the  preceding  chapters,  which  form  what  is  called 
"The  Priest's  Code."  Passing  on  to  Deut.  31:9  the 
statement  is  made,  "And  Moses  wrote  this  law  and 
delivered  it  unto  the  priests,"  and  in  verses  24-26, 
when  he  had  finished  the  writing  of  the  law  in  a  book, 
or  as  the  Hebrew  says,  in  the  book,  he  gave  an  em- 
phatic charge  for  its  guarding.  On  the  most  limited 
construction  this  must  mean  the  law  he  had  just  been 
expounding  and  which  constitutes  a  large  part  of  the 
present  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  so  that  in  these  refer- 
ences we  cover  the  essential  parts  of  the  legislation 
found  in  the  Pentateuch. 

But  there  are  other  references.  In  Ex.  17:14  Moses 
is  told  to  write  in  a  book  the  story  of  Israel's  discom- 
fiture of  Amalek,  and  in  Num.  33:2  we  learn  that 
Moses  wrote  the  account  of  the  wanderings  of  Israel  in 
the  wilderness.  If  there  was  a  reason  for  recording 
such  events  surely  there  was  a  much  stronger  reason 
why  Moses  should  write  the  more  important  matters 
pertaining  to  their  history. 

Those  who  object  to  the  Mosaic  origin  here  call 
attention,  as  an  offset,  to  other  passages  which  seem 
to  imply  that  Moses  did  not  write  them.  Ex.  11:3 
speaks  of  Moses  as  a  very  great  man  in  Egypt,  and 
Num.  12:3  refers  to  his  meekness,  and  Deut.  34:10  to 
his  remarkable  position  as  a  prophet  before  Jehovah. 


The  Tor  ah  or  the  Law  25 

Such  expressions,  they  tell  us,  could  not  come  from 
the  pen  of  a  man  like  Moses.  In  other  places  expla- 
nations are  made,  as  Gen.  12:6;  genealogies  are  intro- 
duced, as  Gen.  36;  places  are  given  names  they  did 
not  have  till  a  much  later  period,  as  Deut.  34:1;  and 
the  death  of  Moses  is  recorded  in  Deut.  34.  These 
and  other  similar  objections  are  hard  to  meet  with  a 
positive  answer,  but  so  far  as  they  relate  to  Moses 
himself  do  not  present  any  serious  difficulty,  for  the 
assertion  that  he  did  not  write  them  is  at  least  no 
stronger  than  the  contrary  assertion  that  he  did  write 
them.  As  for  the  change  of  names  and  anachronisms, 
these  are  exceedingly  frail  foundations  for  an  argu- 
ment, since  we  are  confessedly  so  ignorant  of  the  con- 
ditions then  existing;  and  it  may  easily  be  that  the 
same  place  had  two  names,  one  popular,  the  other 
official,  as  we  now  call  our  greatest  metropolis  New 
York  or  Gotham,  or  later  copyists  may  have  given  the 
names  common  in  their  day. 

3.  When  we  examine  the  later  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  we  find  constant  reference  to  the  Penta- 
teuch in  a  way  which  proves  that  it  was  a  well-known 
work.  Joshua  is  directed  to  regulate  his  conduct  by 
it,  1:7,  8.  David  observes  Mosaic  regulations  when 
removing  the  ark,  i  Chron.  15:15.  Solomon  arranged 
the  temple  service  according  to  the  commandment  of 
Moses,  2  Chron.  8:13.  David  charges  Solomon  to  live 
as  it  is  written  in  the  Law  of  Moses,  i  Kings  2:3.  So 
with  Amaziah,  2  Kings  14:6,  and  Hezekiah,  2  Kings 
18:6.  In  Josiah's  time  the  finding  of  a  copy  of  it 
resulted  in  a  great  reformation,  2  Kings  22:8ff. 

But  it  was  known  far  beyond  such  limits.  The  High 
Priest,  Jehoiada,  arranged   the  ritual   services   "as  it  is 


26      Otitli?ies  of  a?i  httroduction  to  the  Old  Testa?ne7it 

written  in  the  Law  of  Moses,"  2  Chron.  23:18.  We 
are  told  that  Ezra  was  a  ready  scribe  in  the  Law  of 
Moses,  Ezra  7:6.  And  the  last  utterance  of  the  last 
prophet  was  an  injunction  to  remember  the  Law  of 
Moses,  Mai.  4:4. 

If  we  examine  these  and  similar  references  in  these 
later  books  we  find  they  take  us  to  almost  every  part 
of  the  Pentateuch,  thus  linking  the  name  of  Moses 
with  the  entire  work.  To  say  that  in  all  these  allu- 
sions the  thought  of  the  writer  does  not  go  be^^ond  the 
immediate  words  quoted  and  that  he  does  not  intend 
to  ascribe  the  entire  book  to  Moses,  is  simply  begging 
the  question.  If  Moses  wrote  the  passages  quoted 
the  reasonable  inference  is  that  he  wrote  the  books  in 
which  they  occur. 

4.  Still  further  evidence  for  the  Mosaic  origin  of  the 
Pentateuch  is  found  in  its  unique  manner  of  state- 
ment. In  the  references  to  Egypt  there  is  the  fresh- 
ness of  personal  experience.  The  wilderness  life 
bears  all  the  marks  of  a  personal  narrative  prepared 
while  yet  it  was  in  progress.  The  call  of  Moses,  the 
consecration  of  Aaron  and  his  sons,  the  allusions  to 
Canaan  as  a  land  yet  to  be  possessed,  the  details  of 
their  camp  life,  the  construction  of  the  tabernacle  with 
the  account  of  the  voluntary  gifts  of  the  people  for 
its  furnishing,  and  the  remarkably  personal  character 
of  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  with  many  other  items, 
reveal  the  work  of  a  personal  actor  and  one  deeply 
interested  in  the  preservation  of  their  records.  It  is 
autobiographical  rather  than  historical  in  form,  and 
there  is  no  one  around  whom  all  this  centers  as  around 
Moses.  Bleek,  in  his  bit.  Old  Test.  I.,  p.  212,  while 
doubting  that  the  Pentateuch,  in  its  present  form,  came 


The  Tor  ah  or  the  Law  27 

directly  from  the  hand  of  Moses,  adds  that  "The  laws, 
as  they  stand  in  these  books,  make,  as  a  whole,  one 
and  the  same  claim  to  have  proceeded  from  Moses"; 
and  then  he  says,  "It  is  in  the  highest  degree  likely 
that  these  laws,  not  only  in  their  essential  purport 
proceeded  from  Moses,  but  also  that  they  were  writ- 
ten down  by  Moses,  or  at  least  in  the  Mosaic  age." 

5.  Lastly,  the  failure  of  other  theories  drives  us 
back  to  the  plain  utterance  of  the  book  itself.  The 
theory  that  the  Pentateuch  was  produced  after  the 
captivity,  either  by  Ezra  or  those  who  succeeded  him, 
does  not  suit  the  conditions  then  existing.  Literary 
production  was  not  a  characteristic  of  that  period. 
The  original  work  of  Ezra,  the  most  literary  man 
among  them,  is  represented  at  best  by  the  historical 
books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  mainly  a  record  of  con- 
temporary events.  The  post-exilic  prophets,  as  con- 
trasted with  those  before  the  exile,  are  not  only 
inferior  in  amount  but  still  more  in  their  power  of 
literary  expression.  To  suppose  that  these  men 
would  attempt  such  a  work  as  the  production  of  a 
book  like  the  Pentateuch  is  to  give  them  an  impor- 
tance which  they  neither  claim  nor  deserve. 

Nor  can  we  find  a  probable  author  in  the  priestly 
character  of  Ezekiel;  for  his  book  is  plainly  based  on 
the  Pentateuch.  The  Pentateuch  is  not  the  outgrowth 
of  Ezekiel.  And  the  same  difficulty  meets  us  if  we  try 
to  locate  the  book  in  the  days  of  Josiah,  2  Kings  22; 
for  the  entire  account  there  shows  that  the  interest 
aroused  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  an  old  book  had 
been  discovered,  not  a  new  one  written.  And  if  we 
say  that  there  was  an  intentional  deception  in  this 
matter,  the  priests  actually  writing  it  but  putting  it  in 


28      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

the  name  of  Moses  to  give  it  authority,  we  come  to  a 
result  which  vitiates  the  entire  assumption.  It  would 
be  amazing  if  the  Israelitish  nation,  then  far  gone  in 
idolatry,  having  the  rich  and  the  learned  and  the  noble 
elements  in  thorough  sympathy  with  their  idolatrous 
customs,  should  hear  such  denunciation  of  their  course 
and  never  raise  a  protest  against  such  teachings,  as 
they  could  easily  have  done  if  they  were  something 
entirely  new.  There  must  have  been  a  knowledge 
of  such  a  book,  although  it  might  have  been  long  hid- 
den in  the  dark  days  of  Manasseh,  and  now  when  it 
was  brought  to  light  it  had  a  power  which  swept 
everything  before  it. 

Nor  can  we  appeal  to  the  idea  that  such  teaching  as 
we  find  in  the  Pentateuch  is  too  far  advanced  for  the 
Mosaic  era.  The  theory  of  an  ethical  development  of 
the  religious  idea  underlies  all  the  objections  raised 
against  the  early  origin  of  the  book.  The  literary 
activities,  the  religious  ideas,  and  the  social  condi- 
tions, they  tell  us,  make  it  impossible  that  anyone 
living  in  the  Mosaic  age  should  produce  such  an  elab- 
orate and  finished  structure.  These  ideas  of  govern- 
ment, of  social  life,  of  religion  and  of  God  were  of  slow 
growth  so  that  generations  and  centuries  were  neces- 
sary before  they  could  formulate  such  lofty  and 
spiritual  conceptions.  The  laws  would  not  be  made 
until  they  were  needed,  and  they  were  not  needed 
until  by  long  deliberation  and  wise  selection  the  right 
idea  had  at  last  been  reached.  Recent  archaeological 
research,  showing  similar  advancement  in  Egypt  and 
Assyria,  breaks  the  force  of  this  argument.  Such 
questions  were  largely  discussed  at  that  time.  Fur- 
ther, this  reasoning  is  so  directly  opposed  to  the  entire 


The  ToraJi  or  the  Law  29 

teaching  of  the  Scriptures  that  it  refutes  itself.  Our 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  the  fit  manner  of  His  wor- 
ship, as  well  as  our  knowledge  of  ourselves  and  of  our 
relations  to  our  fellow  men,  is  not  a  matter  of 
development  or  wise  deliberation  but  of  direct  revela- 
tion. God  Himself  is  the  fountain  of  truth  and  of  His 
fullness  have  we  received.  And  there  can  be  no 
reason  given  why  He  should  not  have  imparted  that 
knowledge  to  Moses.  It  was  then  preeminently 
needed,  and  God  always  responds  to  man's  need.  It 
is  not  true  therefore  that  centuries  of  human  struggle 
must  precede  a  true  knowledge  of  God.  He  speaks 
and  the  truth  becomes  the  light  of  life  in  which  all 
generations  can  walk. 

IV.  Sources  of  the  Pentateuch 

The  length  of  time  embraced  in  the  Pentateuch  pre- 
cludes the  idea  that  one  author  could  produce  it  from 
his  own  observation.  How  then  did  he  obtain  his 
facts?  This  question  has  been  discussed  by  those  who 
refer  the  Pentateuch  to  Moses,  as  well  as  by  those  who 
deny  his  authorship  of  it. 

According  to  the  critical  theories  now  so  largely 
entertained  there  is  properly  no  author.  It  is  a  growth 
or  a  systematizing  of  facts  or  traditions  in  which  many 
men  have  had  a  part  not  so  much  in  the  way  of  orig- 
inal investigation  as  of  editorial  elaboration  and  com- 
ment. Hence  they  speak  of  different  editors  or 
redactors.  Around  an  original  nucleus  these  men 
have  added  items  from  various  sources  until  the  pres- 
ent work  is  the  result.  This  work  of  editing  went  on 
down  to  post-exilic  times,  and  the  different  documents 
making  up  the  present  book  are  still  so  clearly  marked 


30      Outlifies  of  a?t  hitroduciion  to  the  Old  Testament 

that  they  can  be  separated  from  each  other  and  their 
age  determined. 

These  different  documents  hav^e  received  different 
names  according  to  some  peculiarity  they  possess;  as, 
the  Jehovist  docum&nt,  because  the  name  of  God 
found  in  it  is  Jehovah;  the  Elohist,  because  the  name 
of  God  in  it  is  Elohim;  the  Priestly  code,  because  the 
contents  relate  largely  to  the  ceremonial  law;  or  the 
Deuteronomic  code,  because  it  constitutes  a  large  part 
of  our  present  Book  of  Deuteronomy. 

There  is  the  greatest  variety  of  opinion  as  to  what 
the  original  basis  of  the  Pentateuch  was,  or  where 
these  different  documents  originated  or  when  they 
were  first  put  into  their  present  shape.  The  theory  of 
one  critic  frequently  destroys  that  of  another.  The 
only  point  on  which  they  are  all  agreed  is  that  they 
are  all  much  later  than  the  time  of  Moses. 

Those  who  hold  to  the  Mosaic  origin  of  the  Penta- 
teuch have  likewise  had  different  ideas  as  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  came  into  possession  of  his  facts. 
Some,  like  Carpzov,  have  held  that  Moses  received  the 
entire  contents  by  immediate  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Others  hold  that  he  obtained  his  historical 
facts  either  from  oral  tradition  or  from  written  docu- 
ments, while  the  Holy  Spirit  directed  him  in  the 
selection  of  the  truth  and  the  proper  expression  of  it. 
As  for  the  legal  or  religious  ordinances  the  fact  is 
often  stated  that  he  received  them  directly  from  God 
who  told  him  to  write  carefully  what  he  had  seen  and 
heard.  The  creation  narrative  must  have  been 
revealed  either  to  Moses  personally  or  to  some  one 
before  him. 

The  most  probable  theory  is  that  written  documents 


The  Tor  all  or  the  Law  31 

existed  and  were  used  by  Moses  as  the  basis  of  the 
narrative  composing  the  Pentateuch.  That  such  docu- 
ments were  in  existence  we  may  infer  from  what  we 
have  learned  from  the  monuments  and  records  in  Egypt 
and  Babylon  concerning  the  knowledge  of  that  age. 

Out  of  such  material  Moses  selected  the  facts  and 
wrote  the  record  under  divine  direction,  not  joining 
different  and  sometimes  conflicting  statements  as  the 
critics  contend,  but  so  arranging  the  facts  as  to  pre- 
sent the  subject  in  its  proper  light  when  seen  from 
different  directions.  He  was  a  historian,  basing  his 
record  on  facts,  and  not  an  editor,  clumsily  patching 
together  documents  which  had  no  mutual  relation. 
Hence  his  work  has  a  unity  and  a  clearly  seen  pur- 
pose, and  is  worthy  of  its  position  at  the  head  of  the 
divine  revelation. 

We  conclude  then  that  Moses  was  the  author  of  the 
Pentateuch,  that  he  used  either  written  documents  or 
oral  tradition  as  the  historical  basis  of  his  work,  that 
he  received  the  legal  portions  directly  from  God,  and 
that  in  writing  it  he  was  constantly  guided  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  both  in  the  selection  and  preparation  of  his 
material. 

In  thus  asserting  the  Mosaic  origin  of  the  Penta- 
teuch we  do  not  mean  that  every  word  of  it,  in  just  the 
form  in  which  we  now  have  it,  is  just  as  he  left  it. 
The  account  of  the  death  of  Moses,  Deut.  34,  is 
plainly  a  supplement;  the  personal  allusion  to  the 
exalted  position  of  Moses  in  Egypt,  Ex.  11:3,  and  to 
his  excessive  meekness,  Num.  12:3,  may  have  been 
inserted  by  some  one  anxious  to  call  attention  to  his 
splendid  character;  although  we  see  no  reason  for 
such  an  admission,  some  passages  which  are  supposed 


32      Outlines  of  an  hitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

to  refer  to  later  events  in  their  history,  Gen.  12:6, 
14:14,  Ex.  16:35,  Deut.  33:1,  may  have  been  inserted 
as  explanations.  Such  incidental  references  do  not 
affect  the  main  proposition,  which  is  that  in  the  Penta- 
teuch as  it  now  exists  we  have  a  work  which  has  come 
down  to  us  from  Moses  as  an  original  composition, 
not  as  the  result  of  successive  redactions  and  piecing 
together  of  undigested  documents.  Using  the  term  as 
we  are  accustomed  to  use  it,  we  say  that  Moses  wrote 
it.  If  in  the  course  of  time  certain  words  became 
obscure  and  an  explanation  was  inserted,  or  if  changes 
in  their  national  life  called  for  modification  of  their 
older  customs  it  would  not  be  strange  if  they  were 
inserted,  but  such  a  fact  does  not  discredit  its  Mosaic 
origin. 

V.  Outline  of  the  Separate  Books 

The  fundamental  character  of  the  Pentateuch  may 
be  learned  from  the  following  general  outline  of  the 
separate  books: 

GENESIS 
I.  Name 
The  Hebrew  name  of  the  first  book  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  appropriately  taken  from  the  word  with  which 
the  book  o^tns,  Bereshith,  "in  the  beginning. "  The 
Septuagint  translates  this  word  Genesis,  "origin," 
"beginning,"  and  the  Vulgate  and  most  other  versions 
have  adopted  the  Greek  word.  It  is  well  called  "The 
Book  of  Origins." 

II.  Contents 
The  analysis  of  the  book   is  very  simple.     We  have 
first  a  statement  of  facts  relating  to  the  primeval  world, 


The  Tor  ah  or  the  Lazv  33 

then  a  sketch  of  patriarchal  history  until  the  death  of 
Joseph  in  Egypt,  telling  us  of  the  origin  of  the  nation 
and  explaining  how  they  came  to  be  in  bondage  there. 
Each  of  these  divisions  is  again  subdivided  into  five 
minor  subdivisions: 

A.   The  primeval  period.     Chs.  1-11:26 

1.  Generations  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 
Chs.  1-4. 

2.  Generations  of  Adam.     Chs.  5:1-6:8. 

3.  Generations  of  Noah.     Chs.  6:9-9:29. 

4.  Generations  of  the  sons  of  Noah.     Chs.  10:1-11:9. 

5.  Generations  of  Shem.     Ch.  11:10-26. 

B.   The  patriarchal  period.     Chs.  11 :2y-§o:26 

1.  The  generations  of  Terah.     Chs.  11:27-25:11. 

2.  The  generations  of  Ishmael.     Ch.  25:12-18. 

3.  The  generations  of  Isaac.     Chs.  25:19-35:29. 

4.  The  generations  of  Esau.     Chs.  36:1-37:1. 

5.  The  generations  of  Jacob.     Chs.  37:2-50:26. 
Each  of  these  ten  subdivisions,  except  the  first,  is 

introduced  by  the  formula  "These  are  the  genera- 
tions." In  the  first,  instead  of  standing  at  the  begin- 
ning, it  is  found  at  2:4,  Chs.  1:1-2:3  being  regarded  as 
a  general  introduction.  This  expression  is  plainly 
intended  as  a  heading  to  the  statement  which  follows 
it.  The  length  of  the  section  depends  in  every  case 
upon  its  importance  as  related  to  the  general  theme  of 
the  book.  Hence  the  generations  of  Ishmael  are  con- 
fined to  six  verses  while  those  of  Terah,  which  relate 
principally  to  Abraham,  fill  fourteen  chapters. 

The  manifest  design  of  the  writer  is  to  explain  the 
origin  of  the  Jewish  nation  and  its  peculiar  relation  to 
God.     This   appears  in  his   record  of  the  origin  of  the 


34       Outlines  of  an  IntroductioJL  to  the  Old  Testameiit 

earth  and  of  man,  thus  giving  to  the  book  a  value 
v^hich  not  only  justifies  its  place  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Bible,  but  also  shows  how  fundamental  its  teach- 
ings are  to  all  that  follows. 

Equally  manifest  is  the  deep  religious  tone  which 
pervades  the  book.  Although  designed  to  set  forth 
the  historical  records  of  the  past,  every  fact  is  seen  to 
have  a  profound  moral  and  spiritual  value.  Every- 
thing begins  with  God  and  is  of  importance  because  of 
its  relation  to  God.  The  grandest  feature  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation  is  the  manifest  presence  of  God  in  it,  and 
the  truth  is  constantly  enforced  that  man  is  as  much 
under  the  divine  direction  as  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  because  both  are  the  direct  Vv^orks  of  God's  hand 
and  are  intended  to  advance  the  divine  glory. 

But  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  this  narrative  is 
its  constant  reference  to  the  future  of  the  nation  and 
of  the  world.  It  is  to  be  the  center  of  the  world's 
religious  history.  Already  in  3:13-15  the  fact  of  a 
great  world  conflict  with  evil  is  announced;  in  9:18-27 
deliverance  is  promised  through  the  descendants  of 
Shem;  in  12:1-3  Abraham  is  declared  to  be  the  one  in 
whom  all  the  families  of  the  earth  are  to  be  blessed; 
in  26:1-5  his  son,  Isaac,  is  chosen;  in  28:10-17  Jacob, 
the  son  of  Isaac,  is  selected  as  the  one  through  whom 
the  final  deliverance  will  come;  and  in  49:8-12,  out  of 
Jacob's  twelve  sons,  Judah  is  pointed  out  as  the  one 
through  whom  the  great  salvation  will  be  secured. 
These  utterances  form  the  beginning  of  a  series  run- 
ning all  through  the  Old  Testament,  growing  more 
explicit  as  time  goes  on,  until  the  national  life  is  per- 
meated with  the  thought  of  a  Messiah  in  whom  the 
world  would  find  salvation. 


I 


The  ToraJi  or  the  Lazv  35 

EXODUS 
I.   Name 

The  Hebrew  name  is  We-elleh  shemoth,  "and  these 
are  the  names,"  the  words  with  which  the  book  opens. 
The  name  Exodus  was  given  it  by  the  Greek  translators 
and  has  passed  through  the  Latin  into  most  transla- 
tions. 

II.  Contents 

The  book  is  easily  divided  into  three  sections:  Israel 
in  Egypt,  Israel  on  the  way  to  Sinai,  Israel  at  Sinai. 
The  line  of  thought  may  be  more  fully  indicated  as 
follows: 

1.  Israel i7i  Egypt. — After  a  brief  statement  in  regard 
to  those  who  originally  went  to  Egypt  and  their  rapid 
increase  in  numbers,  1:1-7,  we  are  told  of  the  harsh 
measures  taken  by  the  Egyptian  king  to  keep  them  in 
subjection,  1:8-22.  Then  follows  a  sketch  of  the  birth 
and  early  life  of  Moses,  2:i£f;  of  his  call  to  become 
their  deliverer,  3:iff;  of  his  appearance  with  Aaron, 
his  brother,  before  Pharaoh  to  demand  Israel's  release, 
5:iff ;  and  of  the  ten  plagues  sent  upon  the  Egyptians 
because  they  would  not  listen  to  the  divine  command, 
Chs.  7  to  II.  In  connection  with  the  last  plague  we 
have  the  account  of  the  institution  of  the  Passover  as 
an  annual  ceremonial  in  memory  of  their  deliverance, 
Chs.  12  and  13. 

2.  Israel  on  the  way  to  Sinai. — They  cross  the  Red 
Sea,  Ch.  14,  a  fact  celebrated  in  a  song  by  Moses,  Ch. 
15,  and  march  through  the  wilderness  of  Shur,  receiv- 
ing from  God  food,  Ch.  16,  and  water,  Ch.  17,  triumph- 
ing  over   their   adversaries,    17:8,    until    in    the  third 


36      Otitliius  of  an  Introductio7i  to  the  Old  Testament 

month  after  they  left  Egypt  they  come  to  the  wilder- 
ness of  Sinai,  19:1. 

3.  Israel  at  Sinai. — At  Sinai  the  theocracy  is  formally 
organized  by  the  giving  of  the  Ten  Commandments, 
20:1-17,  accompanied  by  a  code  of  laws  regulating 
their  social  and  religious  life,  21:1-24:11.  Moses  is  then 
instructed  in  regard  to  building  the  tabernacle  and  its 
furniture,  24:12-31:18,  the  incident  of  the  golden  calf  is 
related,  32:1-34:35,  and  the  book  closes  with  a  full  state- 
ment of  the  work  of  Moses  in  carrying  out  the  divine 
instructions  in  regard  to  the   tabernacle,  Chs.    35-40. 

The  opening  words  of  the  book  prepare  us  to  under- 
stand that  a  considerable  period  must  have  elapsed 
between  the  close  of  Genesis  and  the  opening  of 
Exodus.  This  silence  is  easily  explained.  We  have 
no  history  of  Israel  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  term, 
but  a  series  of  historical  events  leading  up  to  and  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  advent  of  the  Messiah,  the  one 
event  to  which  they  all  point.  The  period  of  slavery 
in  Egypt,  having  nothing  bearing  specially  on  that 
point,  is  passed  over  in  silence. 

The  credibility  of  the  book  has  been  fiercely  assailed; 
the  historical  part  by  those  who  object  to  miracles,  and 
the  legislative  by  those  who  claim  that  instead  of  pre- 
ceding the  national  life  the  laws  are  a  product  of  the 
times  of  the  captivity  and  later.  But  the  historical 
stands  unimpeached.  The  statements  concerning 
Egypt  and  the  condition  of  Israel  while  there,  and  the 
geographical  knowledge  revealed  concerning  both 
Egypt  and  Arabia  are  abundantly  confirmed  by  the 
latest  researches  in  archaeology,  while  the  laws  both 
social  and  religious  are  simple  and  fundamental,  such 
as  their  condition  at  Sinai  demanded. 


The  Tor  ah  or  the  Law  37 

The  relation  between  this  book  and  Genesis  is  mani- 
fest. We  pass  now  to  the  records  of  a  nation,  we  are 
in  the  midst  of  a  people  having  a  past  and  planning 
for  a  future.  The  conditions  here  demand  those  of 
Genesis  as  a  basis,  and  the  moral  and  spiritual  no  less 
than  the  national  conditions  are  the  natural  outgrowth 
of  the  life  in  Genesis.  Equally  plain  is  its  relation  to 
the  books  following  it.  No  theory  of  the  origin  of  the 
kingdom  of  David  is  adequate  which  ignores  the  foun- 
dations laid  down  in  Exodus.  To  place  the  origin  of 
the  laws  after  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  is  to 
reverse  the  natural  order. 

LEVITICUS 
I.   Name 

In  the  Hebrew  the  name  is  Wa-yikra,  "and  he 
called,"  these  being  the  first  words  of  the  book.  The 
name  Leviticus  comes  to  us  through  the  Greek  and 
signifies  matters  pertaining  to  the  Levitical  services. 
Among  the  later  Jews  it  is  frequently  called  Torah 
Kohanim,  "Law  of  Priests." 

n.    Contents 

The  book  has  a  specific  theme,  priestly  regulations, 
which  is  everywhere  kept  in  view,  but  in  its  details  it 
does  not  follow  a  logical  order  as  closely  as  the  two 
books  which  precede  it.  This  may,  however,  be 
largely  explained  from  the  fact  that  the  different 
topics  treated  frequently  overlap  each  other. 

The  following  is  a  general  outline: 

I.  Laws  respecting  sacrifice,  Chs.  i-y. — Instructions 
are  here  given  concerning  the  Burnt  Offering,  Ch.  i,  the 


38      Outlines  of  an  iTitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

Meal  Offering,  2;  the  Peace  Offering,  3;  the  Sin  Offer- 
ing, 47-5:13,  and  the  Trespass  Offering,  5:14-67. 
Instructions  in  regard  to  making  these  offerings  are 
found  in  Chs.  6  and  7. 

2.  The  i7istitntio7i  of  the  priesthood.  Chs.  8-10. — Moses 
first  consecrates  Aaron  and  his  sons  to  the  priesthood, 
8;  and  after  eight  days  they  present  their  first  offer- 
ings, 9;  consisting  of  an  offering  for  the  priest  and 
then  an  offering  for  the  people.  Nadab  and  Abihu, 
two  priests,  sons  of  Aaron,  are  slain  because  they  offer 
strange  fire  before  Jehovah,  10:1-7.  The  priests  are 
forbidden  to  drink  wine  while  exercising  their  priestly 
functions,  10:8-11;  and  their  portion  of  the  sacrifice  is 
defined,  io:i2ff. 

3.  Laws  defining  clean  and  unclean.  Chs.  11-16. — 
Clean  and  unclean  animals,  11;  uncleanness  arising 
from  child-birth,  12;  leprosy  and  its  treatment,  13:1- 
15:33;  and  rules  for  the  day  of  atonement,  16. 

4.  The  law  of  holiness.  Chs.  17-2^. — Laws  regulating 
personal  holiness,  Chs.  17-20;  laws  for  securing  purity 
of  the  priests,  Chs.  21  and  22;  laws  defining  sacred 
seasons,  Chs.  23  and  24;  laws  respecting  idolatry  and 
the  Sabbath,  with  admonitions  in  regard  to  observing 
them,  Chs.  25-27. 

The  relation  between  Exodus  and  Leviticus  is  evi- 
dent, not  only  from  the  opening  words  of  Leviticus 
which  join  it  to  the  former  book,  but  also  in  the  mat- 
ters treated.  In  Exodus  Moses  receives  the  command 
to  build  the  tabernacle  and  in  Leviticus  he  proceeds  at 
once  to  arrange  for  the  orderly  performance  of  divine 
service  in  it. 

Much  discussion  has  arisen  over  the  origin  and 
arrangement  of  these  laws.     In  the  book  itself  it  is 


The  Torah  or  the  Law  39 

said  of  them,  "J^^ovah  spake  unto  Moses,"  4:1,  or 
"Jehovah  spake  unto  Moses  and  to  Aaron,"  ii:i,  or 
"Jehovah  spake  unto  Aaron,"  10:8.  We  note  also 
that  Moses  is  told  to  speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel, 
12:1,  2,  to  command  Aaron  and  his  sons,  6:9,  to  speak 
unto  Aaron  and  his  sons  and  all  the  children  of  Israel, 
17:2,  while  at  7:37,  38  and  at  26:46  words  occur  which 
seem  as  though  they  were  intended  to  be  the  end  of 
the  book.  These  facts  do  not  necessarily  imply  that 
the  book  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  long  period  during 
which  laws  were  added  as  occasion  arose,  as  many 
critics  assume,  but  maybe  explained  as  sections  added 
by  Moses  himself,  who  received  instruction  at  differ- 
ent times  at  Sinai  and  wrote  them  as  he  received  them, 
or  we  may  suppose  that  they  were  added  during  the 
wanderings  of  Israel,  while  Moses  was  their  leader  and 
recorded  by  him  as  he  was  about  leaving  them. 

NUMBERS 
I.   Name 

The  name  is  called  in  Hebrew  Wa-yedabber,  "and 
he  spake,"  the  first  words  of  the  book,  or  sometimes 
Bemidbar,  "in  the  desert,"  because  it  deals  with  their 
wilderness  life.  In  the  Greek  it  is  called  Arithmoi  and 
in  the  Latin  Nti?neri^  of  which  the  English  word  Num- 
bers is  the  equivalent.  It  receives  this  name  from  the 
numbering  or  marshalling  of  the  people  found  both  at 
the  beginning  and  end  of  the  book. 

II.    Contents 

In  a  general  way  the  book  is  a  record  of  their  prepa- 
ration   for   their   departure    from    Sinai    and    of   their 


40      Outlines  of  an  Introductioii  to  the  Old  Testament 

doings  until  they  encamp  on  the  borders  of  the  Land 
of  Promise. 

Three  sections  are  plainly  marked: 

1.  Preparation  for  departure  from  Sinai.  Chs.  i:i- 
io:io, — A  census  is  taken  of  all  the  tribes,  except 
Levi,  1:1-46,  the  members  of  which  tribe  were 
appointed  to  have  charge  of  the  tabernacle  and  were 
to  remain  encamped  around  it,  1:47-54.  The  total  num- 
ber was  found  to  be  603,550.  The  position  of  each 
tribe  in  the  camp  is  located,  Ch.  2;  the  Levites  are 
numbered,  3:15,  and  are  substituted  for  the  first-born, 
3:44,  and  special  duties  are  assigned  them,  Ch.  4. 
Laws  are  provided  for  cases  of  leprosy  and  other 
forms  of  uncleanness,  5:1-4;  restitution  for  trespass, 
5-10;  an  unfaithful  wife,  11-31;  vows,  6:1-12;  the  Naza- 
rite,  13-21,  and  the  form  of  priestly  benediction  given, 
24-27.  A  record  is  made  of  special  offerings  at  the 
dedication  of  the  tabernacle,  Ch.  7;  instructions  are 
given  as  to  the  care  of  the  sacred  vessels  and  the  con- 
secration and  length  of  the  public  service  of  the  priests 
are  fixed,  Ch.  8.  The  Passover  is  celebrated  and  final 
arrangements  are  made  for  their  departure,  Chs.  9  and 
10. 

2.  From  Sinai  to  Moab.  Chs.  10:11-22:1. — The  prin- 
cipal facts  are:  The  parting  of  Moses  and  Hobab, 
10:29-32;  the  sedition  of  Aaron  and  Miriam,  Ch.  12; 
the  spies  sent  to  explore  Canaan,  Ch.  13;  the  rebellion 
of  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram,  Ch.  16;  the  death  of 
Miriam,  the  sin  of  Moses  and  Aaron  at  Meribah,  the 
death  of  Aaron,  Ch.  20;  the  brazen  serpent,  Ch.  21; 
and  the  encampment  on  the  plains  of  Moab,  22:1. 

3.  Preparations  for  e?itering  Ca?iaan.  Chs.  22-J6.— 
Here  we   have   Balak's    encounter  with    Israel,   Chs. 


The  Tor  all  or  the  Law  41 

22-24;  second  census  of  Israel,  Ch.  26;  specific  laws 
respecting  inheritance,  selection  of  Joshua  as  leader, 
offerings  and  vows,  Chs.  27-30;  allotment  of  tribes  on 
the  east  of  Jordan,  Ch.  32;  names  of  stations  on  their 
journey,  Ch.  33;  boundaries  of  Canaan,  Ch.  34;  cities 
of  refuge,  Ch.  35;  rules  for  the  preservation  of  families 
and  estates,  Ch.  36. 

The  relation  between  the  books  of  Numbers  and 
Leviticus  is  very  manifest.  The  opening  words  of 
Numbers  refer  us  directly  to  Leviticus,  and  the  sequence 
of  thought  and  style  is  still  more  complete.  In  Num- 
bers we  are  carried  onward  in  the  preparation  for  the 
national  and  religious  life  of  a  people  for  whose 
greatness  the  foundations  are  here  being  laid. 

Equally  fundamental  is  its  relation  to  the  books 
which  follow  it.  They  not  only  quote  it  freely  but 
assume  the  existence  of  the  institutions  and  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  historical  situation  here  presented. 

In  a  figurative,  typical  way  the  records  of  this  book 
underlie  all  Christian  worship  and  service.  The  sacri- 
ficial system  here  originated  has  given  our  Christian 
nomenclature  such  words  as  sacrifice,  priesthood, 
tabernacle,  Passover;  and  their  long  journey  through 
the  wilderness,  with  its  trials  and  triumphs,  has  sug- 
gested such  terms  as  the  army  of  God,  Christian  sol- 
diers, victory  over  sin,  which  have  been  a  constant 
inspiration  to  the  church  as  well  as  to  the  individual 
Christian. 

Certain  difficulties  suggested  by  the  census  of  Ex. 
38:26  and  Num.  i:i,  the  remarkable  reduction  in 
some  of  the  tribes  as  Simeon,  during  the  wilderness 
life,  and  the  question  of  food  in  the  desert  belong 
more  appropriately  to  exegesis  and,  whatever  may  be 


42      Outlmes  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

their  final  solution,  cannot  affect  the  general  accuracy 
and  value  of  the  book. 

DEUTERONOMY 

I.   Name 

The  Hebrew  name  is  taken  from  the  opening  words, 
Elleh  haddebarim,  "these  are  the  words."  In  later 
Hebrew  it  is  often  called  "The  Book  of  Threatenings," 
from  the  threatenings  found  in  the  latter  part  of  it. 
The  name,  Deuteronomy,  "Second  Law,"  or  "The 
repetition  of  the  Law,"  is  the  Latin  form  of  the  Greek 
name  given  it  in  the  Septuagint.  The  title,  growing 
out  of  the  translation  of  17:18,  although  inexact,  is 
appropriate  since  the  book  contains  the  laws  found  in 
the  previous  books  of  the  Pentateuch  with  practical 
exhortations  based  upon  them. 

H.  Contents 

As  indicated  in  the  title,  the  book  contains  a  restate- 
ment of  laws  already  in  force,  with  reasons  why  they 
should  be  faithfully  obeyed.  It  may  be  regarded  as 
an  extended  discourse  covering  the  entire  subject,  but 
there  are  breaks  in  the  transition  from  one  part  to 
another  which  make  it  more  convenient  to  divide  it 
into  three  discourses  with  a  general  conclusion. 

I .  The  historical  review.  Chs.  i  :i-4 :4j.  — After  a  brief 
statement  concerning  the  time  and  occasion  of  the 
utterance,  1:1-5,  we  have  a  review  of  Israel's  history 
during  the  forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  showing  that 
obedience  had  always  brought  a  blessing,  and  disobe- 
dience loss  and  failure,  1:6-4:40.  This  is  followed  by 
a  statement  in  regard  to  the  three  cities  of  refuge  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Jordan,  4:41-43. 


The  Torah  or  the  Lazv  43 

2.  Repetition  of  the  Laiv.  Chs.  4:44-26  :ig. — After  an 
introduction,  4:44-49,  Moses  enters  upon  a  discussion 
and  review  of  their  law,  basing  his  address  on  the  Ten 
Commandments,  5:1-21.  In  the  first  part  of  his 
address  he  dwells  especially  on  the  first  two  commands, 
their  duty  to  God,  enforcing  love  for  Jehovah,  6:4,  5; 
the  abhorrence  of  idolatry,  7:iff;  the  danger  of  self- 
righteousness,  8:ioff ;  and  the  true  nature  of  God's  serv- 
ice, Chs.  10  and  11.  He  then  treats  more  generally  of 
laws  relating  to  religion,  Chs.  12:1-16:17;  civil  admin- 
istration, 16:18-21:23;  and  private  and  social  life,  22:1- 
26:19. 

3.  The  blessi?ig  a?id  the  curse.  Chs.  2^/ :i-jo\2o. — After 
instructing  the  people  in  regard  to  preserving  the  law 
after  they  cross  the  Jordan,  Moses  and  the  Elders 
declare  the  Blessing  and  the  Curse,  27:1;  and  urge 
fidelity  to  Jehovah,  Ch.  30. 

4.  Conclusiofi. — The  law  is  entrusted  to  the  Levites, 
31:1-13;  Joshua  takes  the  placeof  Moses,  31:14;  and  we 
have  the  Song  of  Moses,  Ch.  32;  the  blessing  of  the 
Twelve  Tribes,  Ch.  33;  and  the  death  of  Moses, 
Ch.  34. 

The  time  element  of  the  book  is  small,  only  about 
forty  days.  Compare  1:3  with  Joshua  4:19  and  Deut. 
34:8.  It  completes  the  historical  record  up  to  the 
assumption  of  the  leadership  by  Joshua  and  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Jordan. 

its  close  relation  to  the  preceding  books  is  evident, 
but  it  has  a  strong  individuality.  A  decided  peculi- 
arity is  its  hortatory  tone.  It  does  not  say,  like  the 
preceding  books,  "Thus  saith  Jehovah,"  but  tells  us 
what  Moses  says  to  the  people.  But  we  must  note 
that  Moses  speaks  only   in   explanation  and  enforce- 


44       Outlines  of  ail  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testainent 

ment  of  what  God  had  first  spoken  to  him.  The  cen- 
tral thought  is,  Jehovah  has  chosen  Israel,  let  Israel 
now  choose  Jehovah. 

Its  relation  to  the  later  books  is  most  intimate,  while 
the  New  Testament  makes  constant  reference  to  it  and 
uses  it  as  an  unquestioned  authority. 

The  unity  of  the  book  cannot  be  assailed.  It  has 
one  purpose,  to  arouse  Israel's  loyalty;  it  proceeds 
along  one  line,  its  language  has  great  uniformity  and 
is  very  pure,  and  all  the  details  point  to  a  definite, 
brief  period  when  it  would  be  likely  to  arise.  The 
death  of  their  great  leader  and  their  passage  into  their 
promised  land  furnish  just  the  conditions  which  would 
naturally  produce  such  a  work,  and  the  various  objec- 
tions to  such  an  origin,  mostly  technical,  do  not  fur- 
nish a  sufficient  reason  for  abandoning  its  Mosaic 
origin.  That  it  was  written  in  the  days  of  Josiah,  2 
Kings  22:8,  or  perhaps  in  the  troublous  times  of  Man- 
asseh,  by  one  who  sought  to  dramatize  Moses  and  so 
to  arouse  the  people  to  a  higher  life,  is  an  assumption 
requiring  so  many  unlikely  conditions  for  its  fulfill- 
ment that  it  becomes  almost  impossible  of  acceptance. 

The  Book  of  Deuteronomy  fitly  closes  the  formative 
period  of  Israel's  history.  With  the  death  of  their 
great  leader,  Moses,  the  whole  scenery  and  action 
change.  The  foundations  have  been  laid  and  the 
work  of  development  now  begins.  Those  critics  who 
ignore  the  old  Hebrew  division,  known  as  the  Torah  or 
the  Law,  and  contend  for  a  Hexateuch,  made  by  the 
addition  of  the  Book  of  Joshua  to  the  Pentateuch,  forget 
the  importance  of  this  distinction.  Joshua  marks  the 
beginning  of  a  new  era  in  their  history;  it  does  not 
form   the  conclusion  of  an  older  order.      This  is  as 


The  Tor  all  or  the  Law  45 

manifest  locally  as  historically  and  doctrinally.  Out 
of  slavery  and  the  long  and  weary  migratory  life  to 
which  Deuteronomy  brings  us,  they  pass  in  Joshua  to 
their  settlement  in  a  permanent  home.  The  national 
spirit  now  begins  to  arouse  them  to  a  sense  of  their 
unique  position  among  the  nations.  Doctrinally 
Moses  had  brought  them  to  know  and  honor  the  idea 
of  law,  and  especially  had  he  taught  them  the  supreme 
importance  of  that  Law  of  Love  to  Jehovah,  6:4,  5, 
which  is  the  underlying  principle  of  all  noble  charac- 
ter, and  is  used  by  Christ  as  expressing  the  succinct 
and  all-comprehensive  principle  of  the  New  Dispensa- 
tion, where  love  to  God  and  love  to  man  form  the 
supreme  attainment  to  which  the  Gospel  leads.  Mark 
12:29-31. 

Works  of  Reference  on  the  Pentateuch. — Conirncii- 
taries:  Delitzsch,  Dillmann,  and  older,  Lange  and 
Bush.  hitroductiojis :  Driver,  Keil,  Bleek  and 
Kautzsch's  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament.  Criticism: 
Green's  Higher  Criticism  of  the  Pe?itatetich  a?id  Unity  of 
the  Book  of  Genesis.  Bissell's  Genesis  Printed  in  Colors. 
Sayce,  The  LligJier  Criticisin  and  the  Montifnents.  W.  R. 
Smith,  The  Old  Testafnent  vi  tJie  Jeivish  Church.  Gigot, 
Special  Lntroduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Old  Testament. 
Chambers,  Moses  and  His  Rece?it  Critics.  The  article 
"Pentateuch,"  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  and  "Hexa- 
teuch,"  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.  See  also 
an  article  by  Dr.  A.  J.  F.  Behrends  in  Methodist  Reviezv, 
Sept.  to  Oct.,  1902,  p.  785.  Hilprecht,  Explorations 
in  Bible  La?ids  in  the  igth  Century. 


THE  PROPHETS 


NABIIM 


The  second  section  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  is  called 
"The  Prophets,"  Nabiim.  The  title  indicates  its  gen- 
eral character,  for  it  relates  to  that  period  of  Jewish 
life  which  came  more  directly  under  the  influence  of 
the  prophets  who  were  the  great  teachers  of  the 
people. 

This  section  is  divided  into  Former  Prophets  and 
Latter  Prophets.  The  books  composing  the  Former 
Prophets  are  historical  in  character;  those  composing 
the  Latter  Prophets  are  hortatory. 

L  The  Former  Prophets 

The  books  known  as  the  Former  Prophets  are  Joshua, 
Judges,  I  and  2  Samuel,  and  I  and  2  Kings. 

Various  reasons  have  been  given  for  calling  these 
books  prophetical.  Some  say  it  is  because  they  were 
written  by  or  under  the  direction  of  the  prophets,  or 
because  they  relate  largely  to  the  lives  of  the  older 
prophets,  like  Samuel,  Elijah,  and  others  whose  teach- 
ings have  not  been  fully  recorded.  But  a  more  suit- 
able reason  may  be  found  in  the  underlying  purpose 
for  which  these  books  were  written.  While  largely 
occupied  with  historical  matters,  the  purpose  in  record- 
ing them  is  to  set  forth  the  development  of  the  king- 
dom of  God.  Whatever  of  Jewish  history  is  needful 
to    explain    that    development    is    recorded    in    these 

46 


TJie  Prophets  47 

books,  sometimes  with  a  prominence  and  prolixity 
which  seem  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  importance  of 
the  fact  itself,  and  whatever  is  not  necessary  to  that 
result  is  either  ignored  or  passed  over  in  the  briefest 
manner,  although  it  would  be  considered  an  important 
fact  by  the  ordinary  historian. 

This  conception  of  these  books  is  necessary  to  any 
proper  understanding  of  them,  or  to  explain  the  great 
prominence  assigned  them  in  the  Hebrew  Canon. 
They  do  not  profess  to  be  a  general  history  of  the  old 
world,  not  even  a  history  of  the  Jewish  race,  but  a 
record  of  God's  revelation  of  His  plan  of  salvation, 
and  only  so  much  history  is  given  as  will  enable  us  to 
trace  the  unfolding  of  that  divine  plan.  This  will  help 
us  to  understand  why  some  periods  are  so  fully  treated 
while  others  are  passed  over  almost  without  notice. 
This  will  also  explain  to  some  extent  why  the  author 
of  these  books  is  not  mentioned.  Throughout  it  is 
God  who  is  brought  into  prominence,  the  human 
agency  is  seldom  recognized. 

H.  The  Latter  Prophets 

The  books  composing  this  division  differ  from  those 
of  the  Former  Prophets  in  that  they  give  the  author's 
name  and  are  hortatory  rather  than  historical  in  their 
contents. 

They  are  divided  into  Major  and  Minor  Prophets. 
Of  the  Major  we  have  three,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and 
Ezekiel;  of  the  Minor  we  have  twelve,  Hosea,  Joel, 
Amos,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  Micah,  Nahum,  Habakkuk, 
Zephaniah,  Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malacni.  The 
terms  Major  and  Minor  refer  simply  to  the  size  of  the 
books. 


48      Oiitlhies  of  a7i  hitrodiictioii  to  the  Old  Testament 

The  peculiar  feature  of  these  books  is  that  they 
record  the  teachings  of  the  men  whose  names  they  bear. 
From  them  we  learn  but  little  of  Jewish  history,  and 
that  in  a  very  fragmentary  and  incidental  way.  The 
Latter  Prophets  were  preeminently  the  teachers  of  the 
divine  will  to  their  generation,  giving  God's  message 
relating  to  their  own  time  and  revealing  also  God's 
purpose  in  regard  to  the  future  development  of  His 
kingdom.  When  they  refer  to  history  it  is  to  furnish 
a  background  to  their  teaching,  or  so  to  locate  the 
truth  they  utter  that  the  people  may  recognize  the 
presence  and  the  power  of  God  in  its  fulfillment. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  fix  the  dates  of 
the  Minor  Prophets.  The  older  critics  considered  the 
order  in  which  they  now  appear  in  the  Bible  as  the 
true  chronological  order,  but  later  scholarship  has 
shown  that  this  is  incorrect.  Some  have  thought  the 
length  of  the  book  decided  the  location  of  it.  Some 
have  seen  an  effort  to  secure  a  continuity  of  thought 
in  the  arrangement. 

In  a  very  broad  way  we  may  classify  them  under  the 
three  periods  of  Jewish  history: 

I.  Assyrian:  Hosea,  Joel,  Amos,  Obadiah,  Jonah, 
and  Micah. 

II.  Chaldean:    Nahum,  Habakkuk,   and  Zephaniah. 

III.  Post-Exilic:    Zechariah,  Haggai,   and   Malachi. 
Those  who  would  fix  the  order  by  the  internal  evi- 
dence arrange  as  follows: 

I.  Assyrian:  Amos,  Hosea,  Joel,  Micah,  and  Jonah. 

II.  Chaldean:  Nahum,  Zephaniah,  Habakkuk,  and 
Obadiah. 

III.  Post-Exilic;  Zechariah,  Haggai,  and  Malachi. 
Fortunately  it  is  not  the  time  element  so  much  as 


llic  Prophets  49 

the  contents  that  is  interesting  and  important.  When 
we  reflect  that  the  period  embraced  in  these  books 
covers  ahiiost  all  of  Jewish  history  after  the  separation 
of  the  two  kingdoms,  that  these  writers  were  among 
the  most  broad-minded  and  spiritual  of  the  nation, 
that  they  discuss  fundamental  questions  of  statesman- 
ship, morals,  and  religion,  that  their  one  purpose  was 
to  hold  in  check  the  bad  elements  of  society  and  give 
broader  opportunity  to  secure  the  choicest  results  of 
living  both  here  and  hereafter,  we  see  that  these  books 
are  minor  only  in  size,  and  we  do  not  wonder  that 
those  who  have  carefully  filled  in  the  outlines  here 
presented  have  found  them  intensely  interesting  and 
valuable. 

The  prophet  usually  delivered  his  message  orally, 
and  this  oral  message  was  afterward  written  out  by 
him  or  his  amanuensis.  (Jer.  36:4.)  These  written 
reports,  prepared  by  the  prophets  themselves,  consti- 
tute our  present  prophetical  books.  The  Minor 
Prophets  have  been  preserved  in  a  very  condensed 
form,  while  in  the  Major  Prophets  we  approach  much 
more  nearly  to  the  form  of  the  oral  address. 

Kautzsch  well  says  (Lit.  of  the  0.  T.,  p.  49),  "The 
inspiration  of  the  prophets  is  the  heart  of  the  Old 
Testament  Revelation:  their  whole  appearance  is  the 
strongest  guarantee  of  the  choice  and  training  of  Israel 
as  a  special  arrangement  of  God's,  as  the  beginning  of 
his  saving  ways  towards  mankind." 

The  following  Table  will  show  the  dates  assigned  to 
the  different  Prophets  by  different  authorities.  Many 
of  them  are  largely  conjectural.  Those  marked 
"Ussher"  are  those  generally  found  in  our  English 
Bible. 


50       OtUlines  of  an  Introdiictioti  to  the  Old  Testament 

USSHER  G.   A.   SMITH  DRIVER 

Isaiah 76o-698(?)  741-701  740-701 

Jeremiah 629-587  (?)  627-586  626-586 

Ezekiel 595-572  592-570 

Daniel  (?) 607-534  165  300-167 

Hosea 785-725  741-736  746-734 

Joel 800  404 

Amos 787  759-745  760-746 

Obadiah 587  Early  exile  586 

Jonah 862  301  In  Fifth  Cent. 

Micah 750-710  720-681  Before  722  (?) 

Nahum 713  607  (?)  664-607 

Habakkuk 626  610  (?)  602-597 

Zephaniah 630  626  Before  621 

Haggai 520  520-516  520 

„     ,      .  ,  .      ,  w   i  Ch.  1-8    520-516  520 

Zectariah 520-517  ]  ch.  9-14  332-301  333 

Malachi 397  464  432 


I.  THE  FORMER  PROPHETS 
JOSHUA 

I.   Name 

The  book  receives  its  name  from  the  man  whose 
life-work  it  records.  Joshua  (Heb.,  Jehoshua;  in  Neh. 
8:17  Jeshua,  "Jehovah  is  Salvation";  Greek  equivalent, 
"Jesus"),  the  son  of  Nun,  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  was 
born  in  Egypt,  about  forty  years  before  the  exodus, 
became  the  confidential  counsellor  of  Moses,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  the  leadership  after  Moses  died.  Num. 
27:18.  His  great  work,  the  conquest  of  Canaan  and 
the  settlement  of  the  tribes,  was  done  after  he  was 
eighty-five  years  old.  His  leadership  continued  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  and  after  a  farewell  address  he 
died  and  was  buried  in  the  city  allotted  him  for  his 
home,  Timnath-Serah,  24:30,  when  he  was  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  years  old.  He  was  a  brave  soldier,  a 
great  statesman,  and  a  faithful  servant  of  God. 


TJic  Prophets  51 

II.   Position 

Its  position  has  always  been  at  the  head  of  the 
Former  Prophets,  the  second  division  of  the  Hebrew 
Bible,  immediately  after  the  Pentateuch,  where  its  his- 
torical position  would  place  it.  Its  close  relation  to 
the  Pentateuch  is  intimated  by  the  word  "And"  with 
which  the  book  begins.  It  appears  also  in  the  fact 
that  it  gives  completeness  to  much  of  which  we  find 
the  beginning  in  the  Pentateuch.  We  note  further 
that  there  is  a  great  similarity  in  the  style  and  the 
general  conditions  surrounding  the  people. 

These  facts  have  led  many  later  critics  to  ignore  the 
old  Jewish  divisions  of  the  books,  and  speak  of  the 
Hexateuch  instead  of  the  Pentateuch.  But  there  is  no 
good  reason  for  such  a  change.  At  no  time  did  the 
Jews  ever  consider  them  in  any  such  relation,  and  the 
fact  that  the  Samaritans  accepted  the  Pentateuch  but 
rejected  Joshua  shows  there  was  abroad  line  of  separa- 
tion between  them.  The  book  has  all  the  features  of 
an  independent  work,  having  a  definite  purpose  with  a 
regular  beginning  and  conclusion.  As  the  Pentateuch 
closes  with  the  death  of  Moses,  their  first  leader,  so 
Joshua  closes  with  the  death  of  Joshua.  Some  of  the 
regulations  made  in  the  Pentateuch,  in  regard  to  the 
cities  of  refuge,  are  changed  in  the  book  of  Joshua, 
and  the  orthography  is  different,  implying  independ- 
ence of  authorship. 

III.    Scope 

It  does  not  give  us  a  complete  history  of  the  nation 
under  Joshua's  administration,  but  is  limited  to  the 
story  of  the  conquest  and  the  settlement  of  Canaan, 
with  a  few  details  in  regard  to  Joshua's  death.     Nor 


52       Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testame?it 

do  we  find  anything  like  a  full  account  of  these  mat- 
ters, for  it  makes  a  record  of  only  a  few  of  the  great 
battles,  and  gives  only  a  general  sketch  of  the  location 
of  the  tribes,  with  almost  nothing  to  indicate  the 
extent  or  thoroughness  with  which  the  work  was  done. 
It  covers  the  period  from  145 1  B.  C.  to  1426,  about 
twenty-five  years. 

IV.  Analysis 

The  book  has  three  main  divisions: 

1.  The  Conquest.     Chs.  1-12. 

a.  Preparation. 

Commission  of  Joshua.     Ch.  I. 
Spies  sent  to  Jericho.     Ch.  2. 
Crossing  the  Jordan.     Chs.  3  and  4. 
Consecration  to  the  work.     Ch.  5. 

b.  The  war. 

Capture  of  strongholds.     Chs.  6-8. 
Defeat   of    allied    kings    at    Beth-Horon. 

Chs.  g-ii. 
Review  of  victories.     Ch.  12. 

2.  Division  of  the  land.     Chs.  13-21. 

Assignment  of  East  Jordan.     Ch.  13. 

The  gift  to  Caleb.     Ch.  14. 

Division  of  West  Jordan.     Chs.  15-21. 

3.  The  farewell.     Chs.  22-24. 

Departure  of  tribes  for  East  Jordan.     Ch.  22. 
Joshua's  first  farewell.     Ch.  23. 
His  second  address.     Ch.  24. 
His  death.     Ch.  24. 

V.    Literary  Features 

The  general  style  so  closely  resembles  that  of  the 
Pentateuch  that  later  critics  usually  discuss  them 
together,  finding  evidence  of  what  they  call  a  com- 


The  Prophets  53 

posite  work,  i.e.,  a  work  depending  on  earlier  docu- 
ments which  have  been  here  put  together  by  one  or 
more  editors.  The  evidence  for  this  is  partly  chro- 
nological and  partly  literary.  Events  are  introduced, 
it  is  said,  out  of  their  chronological  order,  the  editor 
not  being  careful  in  the  use  of  his  documents  to 
arrange  them  as  the  events  occurred.  Or  certain  liter- 
ary characteristics  appear,  such  as  different  names  for 
God;  or  contradictory  statements,  such  as  those  rela- 
ting to  the  conquest  of  the  land  and  the  destruction  of 
the  Canaanites,  which  show  the  careless  use  of  docu- 
ments rather  than  work  of  an  original  writer. 

The  unsatisfactory  results  of  such  criticism  have  so 
far  prevented  their  general  acceptance.  It  is  found 
utterly  impossible  to  discover  any  test  by  which  these 
documents  can  be  distinguished  from  each  other.  The 
attempt  to  reconstruct  these  so-called  original  docu- 
ments so  as  to  show  they  form  separate  accounts  of 
the  same  facts  has  never  yet  proved  satisfactory. 
And  the  apparent  discrepancies  are  usually  nothing 
more  than  we  find  in  all  historical  writings  where  the 
same  facts  are  considered  from  a  different  point  of 
view,  and  items  are  mentioned  or  omitted  as  the  imme- 
diate occasion  demands.  Almost  any  historical  record, 
subjected  to  such  arbitrary  and  elastic  rules  would 
encounter  the  same  objections. 

VI.  Authorship 

The  book  presents  nothing  by  which  we  can  deter- 
mine positively  as  to  its  authorship.  It  seems  certain 
that  it  must  have  been  written  soon  after  the  death  of 
Joshua,  if  he  did  not  write  it.  We  read,  6:25,  "Rahab 
dwelleth  in  Israel  unto  this  day."     In    15:63  we  are 


54      Otitli7ics  ofa?t  Introductio7i  to  the  Old  Tcstame?tt 

told,  "The  Jebusites  dwell  with  the  children  of  Judah 
at  Jerusalem  unto  this  day."  The  writer  identifies 
himself  with  the  times,  5:1;  speaking  of  the  crossing 
of  the  Jordan  he  says,  "Until  zve  were  passed  over." 
On  the  other  hand  events  are  recorded  which  took 
place  after  the  death  of  Joshua,  as  in  15:13-20,  the 
account  of  Caleb's  taking  possession  of  Hebron;  12:14, 
the  reference  to  Hormah  (see  Judges  1:17);  19:47,  the 
migration  of  Dan,  which  took  place  during  the  Judges. 
But  in  24:26  we  read,  "And  Joshua  wrote  these  words 
in  the  book  of  the  Law  of  God,"  which  may  mean 
that  he  wrote  all  of  the  book  which  precedes  this 
passage,  or  may  be  limited  to  the  immediate  context, 
the  material  prepared  by  Joshua  being  arranged  in 
present  form  afterward.  Conjectures  as  to  authorship 
vary  from  Joshua  to  Ezra,  and  even  later. 

VII.  Religious  Value  of  the  Book 

The  profound  religious  tone  is  manifest  from  the 
first  summons  of  Joshua  to  the  day  of  his  death.  In 
1:6-9  Jehovah  calls  him  to  take  the  place  from  which 
Moses  is  taken;  in  5:13-15  the  Prince  of  the  Host  of 
Jehovah  comes  to  him,  and  all  through  his  leadership 
there  is  a  close  fellowship  with  Jehovah  such  as  we 
find  in  no  later  leader.  To  all  this  his  own  heart  was 
profoundly  submissive,  and  when  at  the  end  of  his 
honorable  career  he  reviews  his  life-work  he  freely 
ascribes  all  the  glory  to  God. 

His  biography  shows  how  the  soldier  spirit  can  har- 
monize with  devout  loyalty  to  God.  Exception  has 
been  taken  to  his  treatment  of  the  Canaanites,  Ch.  11, 
but  this  can  be  defended,  not  only  by  the  command 
of  God,  but  by  the  stern  necessities  of  the  time,  when 


The  Prophets  55 

the  religious  interests  of  Israel  and  the  overflowing 
wickedness  of  the  Canaanites  demanded  that  the  land 
be  rescued  from  their  power. 

LITERATURE 

Com7nc?ttanes :  Keil  and  Delitzsch,  Dillmann,  Bush, 
Calvin. 

Literature :  Stanley,  History  of  the  Jewish  CJiurcJi ; 
Addis,  Doeu?ne?its  of  the  HexatencJi;  Smith,  The  Old 
Testame7it  in  tJie  Jewish  OmrcJi ;  Smith's  and  Hastings' 
Bible  Dictionaries. 

JUDGES 

I.   Name 

The  Book  of  Judges  rightly  occupies  the  second 
place  among  the  Former  Prophets,  since  it  continues 
the  history  of  Israel  from  the  death  of  Joshua.  It 
does  not  profess  to  give  a  continuous  history  of  the 
time,  but  tells  of  a  series  of  distinguished  leaders  who 
governed  the  people  during  the  period  between  Joshua 
and  Samuel,  when  the  affairs  of  Israel  were  in  a  very 
disorganized  condition. 

The  Hebrew  name,  Shophetim,  "J^^^g^s,"  but  imper- 
fectly describes  the  office  occupied  by  these  men. 
They  were  leaders  appointed  by  God  to  rescue  the 
people  from  the  oppression  of  foreign  nations,  and 
their  civil  functions  seem  to  have  grown  out  of  their 
success  in  battle.  Hence  they  are  called  "Saviours/' 
3:9,  as  well  as  "Judges,"  2:16.  Their  position  was  due 
to  their  personal  character,  and  except  in  the  case  of 
Gideon  there  does  not  seem  to  have  been  any  attempt 
to  make  the  office  hereditary. 


56      Outlmcs  ofa?i  Introductio7i  to  the  Old  Testament 

II.    Contents 

The  book  opens  with  an  introduction  which  tells  of 
the  incompleteness  of  the  work  of  conquest  begun  by 
Joshua,  and  then  explains  why  Israel  remained  so  long 
in  such  an  unenviable  condition,  subject  to  the  constant 
inroads  of  their  enemies,  viz.,  their  unfaithfulness  to 
God,  It  then  relates  the  work  of  the  leaders  whom 
God  raised  up  when  they  besought  His  help,  and  con- 
cludes with  two  narratives  of  such  prominence  as  to 
have  seriously  affected  the  national  history. 

The  following  outline  will  show  the  course  of 
thought: 

1.  Introduction.     Chs.  1:1-3:6. 

Review  of  the  work  of  conquest  after  the  death  of 
Joshua.  Chs.  1:1-2:5.  The  general  condition  during 
the  period  of  the  Judges.     Chs.  2:6-3:6. 

2.  Narratives  of  the  judges.     Chs.  3:7-16:31. 

Of  these  judges  we  have  an  account  of  twelve,  if  we 
reckon  as  one  Deborah  and  Barak  who  were  associated 
in  their  work,  and  omit  Abimelech,  the  son  of  Gideon, 
who  was  regarded  as  a  usurper.  The  work  of  six  of 
these  judges  is  recorded  with  considerable  detail:  (i) 
Othniel,  3:7-11;  (2)  Ehud,  3:12-30;  (3)  Deborah  and 
Barak,  Chs.  4  and  5;  (4)  Gideon,  Chs.  6:1-8:32;  (5) 
Jephthah,  10:6-12:7;  (6)  Samson,  Chs.  13-16.  We  are 
told  almost  nothing  of  the  work  of  the  remaining  six: 
(i)  Shamgar,  3:31;  (2)  Tola,  10:1,  2;  (3)  Jair,  10:3-5; 
(4)  Ibzan,  12:8-10;  (5)  Elon,  12:11,  12;  (6)  Abdon, 
12:13-15. 

3.  Two  supplemental  narratives.     Chs.  17-21. 

a.  The  story  of  the  migration  of  a  part  of  the 
tribe  of  Dan  to  the  north,  where  they  captured 
Laish  and   gave  it  the    name  of    Dan  and    instituted 


The  Prophets  57 

a  system  of  idolatrous  worship  under  Micah.     Chs.  17 
and  18. 

b.  The  story  of  the  terrible  slaughter  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin  by  the  other  tribes,  on  account  of  its  defense 
of  the  men  of  Gibeah  who  had  assaulted  and  murdered 
the  concubine  of  a  Levite,  and  of  the  measures  taken 
to  prevent  the  total  extinction  of  that  guilty  tribe. 
Chs.  19-21. 

III.  Chronology 

The  fragmentary  character  of  the  book  makes  it 
almost  impossible  to  fix  the  date  of  the  different 
events  or  tell  how  long  a  period  they  all  embrace. 
From  I  Kings  6:1  we  learn  that  the  period  from  the 
exodus  to  the  fourth  year  of  Solomon  covered  480 
years.  If  we  add  the  figures  given  in  our  book  they 
amount  to  410  years,  and  this  would  leave  only  70 
years  for  the  administration  of  Eli,  Samuel,  Saul,  and 
David.  To  overcome  this  difficulty  some  have  sup- 
posed the  years  mentioned  are  not  intended  to  be 
exact  but  round  numbers,  and  the  frequent  recurrence 
of  20,  40,  80  years  v^^ould  give  some  force  to  the  sug- 
gestion. Others  question  the  accuracy  of  i  Kings  6:1, 
where  the  Hebrew  has  480  years  while  the  Septuagint 
has  440,  and  Josephus  {Aiitiq.  8:3:1)  gives  592.  But 
the  more  general  explanation  is  that  these  judges  did 
not  succeed  each  other,  but  that  there  was  often  more 
than  one  exercising  the  office  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  at  the  same  time.  In  10:7  we  are  told  the 
Lord  sold  the  people  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines 
and  into  the  hands  of  the  children  of  Ammon.  The 
Philistines  were  on  the  west,  the  Ammonites  on  the 
east,  and  the   statement  reads  as  though  an  invasion 


58      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

from  both  directions  occurred  at  the  same  time.  The 
same  thing  may  have  happened  in  regard  to  other 
judges,  and  thus  the  number  of  years  may  be  reduced 
until  it  coincides  with  the  figures  given  in  other  places. 
The  two  narratives  at  the  end  of  the  book  are  evi- 
dently placed  where  they  are  in  order  not  to  disturb 
the  record  of  the  judges,  and  not  because  they  occurred 
at  the  end  of  the  period.  Dan  is  mentioned  in 
Deborah's  Song,  5:17,  but  nothing  is  said  of  this 
expedition,  from  which  we  infer  that  it  took  place  after 
Deborah's  time,  although  Moore  {Com.  on  Judges,  p. 
372)  would  place  it  soon  after  the  occupation  of 
Canaan.  The  incident  in  regard  to  Benjamin  occurred 
before  the  death  of  Phinehas,  20:28,  but  we  do  not 
know  when  he  died. 

IV.  Authorship 

The  Talmud  ascribes  it  to  Samuel,  while  modern 
critics  refer  it  to  various  persons  down  to  the  time  of 
Ezra.  We  know  nothing  as  to  the  authorship.  The 
freshness  and  minuteness  of  the  narratives  imply  they 
were  written  while  yet  the  memory  of  the  events  was 
fresh,  while  the  decided  difference  in  the  style  of 
different  parts  would  indicate  that  the  book  was  not  all 
written  by  one  person.  The  double  preface  and  the 
double  appendix,  have  a  common  form,  but  the  record 
of  the  judges  is  evidently  by  another  hand.  It  seems 
likely  that  the  book  was  put  into  its  present  form  by 
some  one  who  collected  different  documents  and 
arranged  them  as  we  now  find  them.  The  expression 
"Unto  this  day,"  15:19,  and  the  fact  that  the  Jebusites, 
1:21,  still  occupied  Jerusalem  would  suggest  that  this 
was  done  at  an  early  date. 


The  Prophets  59 

V.  Value  of  the  Book 

As  a  connecting  link  between  Joshua  and  the  Kings 
the  book  has  great  value.  From  it  we  learn  how  the 
work  of  conquest,  begun  by  Joshua,  was  carried  for- 
ward; how  the  tribes  were  drawn  together,  both  for 
defense  against  their  enemies  and  for  their  own  inter- 
nal development,  until  they  became  a  great  nation  and 
were  ready  for  a  fully-equipped  government  under 
Saul  and  David.  It  is  invaluable  also  for  the  light  it 
throws  on  the  historical  books  which  follow  it.  The 
career  of  Saul  and  the  splendid  reign  of  David  stand 
out  in  their  true  color  only  when  we  see  behind  them 
the  dark  background  of  the  period  of  the  judges.  As 
the  record  of  a  great  transition  period  in  Jewish  his- 
tory, both  in  religious  and  secular  affairs,  it  has  great 
value. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries :  Moore,  The  hiternational  Critical  Com- 
mentary;  Bush;   Keil  and  Delitzsch. 

FIRST  AND   SECOND   SAMUEL 
I.   Name 

The  two  books  of  Samuel  receive  their  name 
Shemu-el,  "Name  of  God,"  or  "Asked  of  God,"  i 
Sam.  1:20,  not  from  their  author,  but  from  the  prophet 
who  is  such  a  conspicuous  character  in  them.  In  the 
Hebrew  they  formed  but  one  book,  called  "The  Book 
of  Samuel,"  but  in  the  Septuagint  and  other  ancient 
versions  it  was  divided  into  two,  and  in  15 17  the 
Hebrew  was  divided,  by  Bomberg  in  his  first  edition  of 
the  Rabbinic  Bible,  to  correspond  with  them.  Because 
of    its   similarity  in   contents   to    the   Book   of   Kings, 


6o       Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testame?it 

which  was  also  originally  one  book  but  has  been 
divided  into  two,  the  four  books  of  Samuel  and  Kings 
were  in  the  older  versions  called  First,  Second,  Third 
and  Fourth  Kings.  This  second  title  passed  over  into 
our  Authorized  Version,  but  has  been  omitted  by  the 
Revisers.  Its  individuality  is  well  marked.  In  style 
and  manner  of  treatment  it  is  widely  separated  from 
both  Judges  and  Kings. 

II.  Contents 

As  the  two  books  of  Samuel  form  a  continuous  nar- 
rative we  shall  treat  them  together.  The  facts  are 
grouped  around  three  leading  characters. 

1.  Samuel. 

a.  The  book  opens  with  a  statement  of  the  birth  of 
Samuel,  when  Eli  was  High  Priest,  and  the  affairs  of 
Israel  were  in  a  disorderly  condition.     Chs.  1-3. 

b.  Samuel's  judgeship,  growing  out  of  the  invasion 
of  the  Philistines,  with  the  loss  of  the  Ark  and  its 
restoration.     Chs.  4-7. 

c.  The  clamor  of  Israel  for  a  king,  the  anointing  of 
Saul,  and  his  confirmation  by  the  people.     Chs.  8-12. 

2.  Saul. 

a.  The  disastrous  reign  of  Saul  up  to  the  time  of  his 
rejection.     Chs.  13-15. 

b.  The  selection  of  David  as  his  successor  with  an 
account  of  the  relations  existing  between  David  and 
Saul.     Chs.  16-30. 

c.  The  tragic  death  of  Saul  and  his  sons  on  the  bat- 
tlefield.    Ch.  31. 

3.  David. 

a.  David's  lament  over  Saul  and  his  crowning  as 
king  over  Judah.     2  Sam.  Chs.  1-4. 


The  Prophets  6 1 

b.  David  is  crowned  as  king  over  all  Israel,  makes 
provision  for  the  public  worship,  and  overcomes  the 
opposition  to  his  royal  position.     Chs.  5-9. 

c.  The  public  acts  of  David  and  the  sins  and  sorrows 
of  his  later  years,  with  the  account  of  his  repentance 
and  spiritual  progress.     Chs.  10-24. 

III.  Authorship 

The  name  of  the  author  cannot  now  be  determined. 
The  book  bears  plain  marks  of  diverse  authorship. 
The  claim  of  the  Talmud,  that  Samuel  wrote  it,  cannot 
possibly  be  correct  beyond  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of 
the  first  book,  since  his  death  is  there  recorded,  and 
the  strong  probabilities  are  that  he  did  not  write  even 
those  parts  which  precede  his  death.  The  prevalent 
opinion  is  that  the  writer  collected  his  facts  from 
different  documents  of  a  historical  character  and 
arranged  them  in  their  proper  order.  These  docu- 
ments, prepared  near  the  time  in  which  the  events 
occurred,  give  to  the  work  the  strongest  assurance  of 
its  truthfulness. 

In  support  of  this  theory  it  is  noted: 

(i)  That  parts  of  the  work  are  composed  of  brief 
fragments,  while  other  parts  are  written  with  much 
more  detail. 

(2)  Different  accounts  of  the  same  event  are  given, 
such  as  the  manner  of  Saul's  appointment,  i  Sam. 
9:1-10:16  and  10:17-27,  and  the  sparing  of  Saul's  life 
by  David,  Chs.  24  and  26,  which  accounts  are  not 
contradictory  as  some  assert,  but  emphasize  different 
features  of  the  same  transaction. 

(3)  Detached  observations  are  added,  apparently  by 
the  compiler. 


62      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  tJie  Old  Testament 

(4)  A  comparison  of  different  events  as  recorded  by 
the  author  of  this  book  and  as  found  in  the  book  of 
Chronicles,  indicate  different  sources  of  information. 

The  evidence  seems  to  show  that  the  writer  drew 
from  documents  which  were  easily  accessible  and  of  a 
well-known  historical  character,  such  as  the  Book  of 
Jashar,  2  Sam.  1:18,  and  a  History  of  David,  i  Chron. 
29:29.  The  practice  of  preserving  such  documents  is 
too  well  known  to  need  reference.      (2  Sam.  8:16.) 

It  has  been  claimed  that  there  is  a  discrepancy  in 
some  of  the  statements  which  discredits  the  whole  nar- 
rative. Thus,  the  statement  in  i  Sam.  7:13,  in  regard 
to  the  expulsion  of  the  Philistines,  seems  at  variance 
with  I  Sam.  9:16,  where  they  are  still  seen  in  conflict 
with  Israel;  and  the  manner  of  Saul's  becoming  king 
in  I  Sam.  9:1-10:16  differs  from  what  is  said  in 
10:17-27;  the  statement  of  the  early  relations  between 
Saul  and  David,  found  in  i  Sam.  16:14-23,  seems  to 
conflict  with  i  Sam.  17:55-58.  But  these  admit  of  a 
solution  which  is  consistent  with  the  general  accuracy 
of  the  record.  The  driving  out  of  the  Philistines  at 
one  period  does  not  preclude  their  reappearance  many 
years  later.  Saul's  anointing  by  the  prophet  does  not 
conflict  with  his  official  acceptance  by  the  people 
afterward;  and  when  we  consider  the  mental  condition 
of  Saul,  his  seeming  ignorance  of  David  need  not  be 
thought  strange. 

Other  apparent  discrepancies  are  doubtless  due  to 
the  brevity  of  the  statement  and  our  ignorance  of  the 
details. 

Nor  do  these  facts  necessarily  imply  a  late  origin  of 
the  book  as  many  assert.  On  the  contrary,  it  was 
probably  written   not  long  after  the  period  to  which 


The  Prophets  63 

the  events  refer.  The  language  places  it  among  the 
products  of  the  purest  period  of  Hebrew  literature,  and 
the  limited  reference  to  historical  documents  shows 
that  it  preceded  the  fuller  literature  of  a  later  period. 
The  indications  point  to  a  time  not  long  after  the 
death  of  Solomon. 

IV.  Design 
It  is  apparent  that  the  author  did  not  intend  to  give 
a  complete  history  of  Israel  during  the  time  of  which 
he  wrote  or  even  a  complete  history  of  the  men  whose 
lives  are  so  prominent  in  the  book.  Had  this  been 
his  purpose  he  would  certainly  have  told  us  something 
of  the  last  days  of  David.  For  this  we  must  go  to 
another  and  later  work,  the  Book  of  Kings.  He  is  not 
writing  a  general  history,  but  as  the  Jews  well  under- 
stood, a  theocratic  history,  in  which  the  grand  aim  is 
to  show  how  God  is  working  out  his  plan  of  redemp- 
tion through  Israel.  Hence  many  things  are  omitted 
as  not  bearing  on  this  theme,  while  the  Messianic  ele- 
ment is  everywhere  made  prominent.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom,  the  selection  of  David  and  his 
typical  character,  the  renewal  and  enlargement  of  the 
Messianic  promises, — these  are  the  central  thoughts  and 
they  are  .wrought  out  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that 
God  is  always  present  and  so  guiding  in  the  affairs  of 
His  people  as  to  make  His  purpose  better  known  and 
bring  it  nearer  to  its  consummation. 

V.  Differences  between  Samuel  and  Chronicles 
Since  the  same  period  of  history  is  treated  in  the 
books  of  Samuel  and  Chronicles  it  is  natural  to  com- 
pare them.  Attention  has  been  called  frequently  to 
the    fact   that    many  events   recorded    in    Samuel   are 


64      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

omitted  in  Chronicles,  such  as  David's  kindness  to 
Mephibosheth,  2  Sam.  Ch.  9;  the  story  of  Bath-sheba 
and  Uriah,  2  Sam.  Chs.  11  and  12;  the  rebellion  of 
Absalom,  2  Sam.  15;  and  David's  song  and  last  words, 
2  Sam.  Chs.  22  and  23.  On  the  other  hand  Chronicles 
contains  much  that  is  omitted  in  Samuel,  as  David's 
preparation  for  the  building  of  the  temple,  the 
arrangement  of  the  Levites  and  priests  for  the  temple 
service,  and  David's  officers  and  heroes. 

In  other  places  the  order  in  which  the  events 
occurred  is  different,  and  the  numbers  given  in  Sam- 
uel differ  widely  from  those  found  in  Chronicles. 

But  if  we  remember  the  different  purpose  of  the  two 
books,  these  variations  present  little  difficulty.  In 
Samuel  the  object  is  to  record  such  facts  as  bear  on 
the  public  welfare,  the  affairs  of  state;  while  Chronicles 
has  its  motive  in  the  religious  life  of  the  time.  Each 
writer  would  naturally  select  those  facts  which  bore 
directly  on  his  theme  and  develop  them  more  fully, 
while  he  would  pass  lightly  over,  or  altogether  omit 
those  which  were  not  essential  for  his  purpose.  The 
difference  in  numbers  is  sometimes  perplexing,  but  the 
confusion  may  be  due  to  causes  for  which  the  writers 
are  not  responsible,  especially  the  primitive  method 
of  Hebrew  reckoning  by  figures,  or  the  liability  to 
mistake  in  transcribing. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries:  Keil  and  Delitzsch;  Smith,  Interna- 
tioTial  Critical  Commentary .  Driver' s  Notes  on  the  Hebrew 
Text  of  the  Books  of  Samnel ;  Keil's  and  Driver's  I?itro- 
diiction  to  the  Old  Testament;  Articles  on  Samuel,  in 
Smith's  and  Hastings'  Bible  Dictio?iaries . 


The  Prophets  65 

FIRST  AND  SECOND  KINGS 
I.  Name 
In  the  Hebrew  the  First  and  Second  Book  of  Kings 
originally  formed  one  book,  called  in  Hebrew  Sepher 
Melakim,  "The  Book  of  Kings,"  or  more  briefly  Mela- 
kim,  "Kings."  They  complete  the  series  of  historic 
records  covering  the  period  from  the  entrance  into  the 
land  of  Canaan  to  the  Babylonian  Captivity. 

H.  Contents 
The  two  books  are  naturally  divided  into  three  sec- 
tions. 

1.  The  reign  of  Solomon.     Chs.  i-ii. 

Solomon  chosen  as  the  successor  to  King  David,  and 
the  successful  inauguration  of  his  work.  Chs.  1-3. 
The  magnificence  of  his  reign  and  his  public  buildings, 
including  the  temple.  Chs.  4-10.  His  gradual  decline 
in  morals,  and  his  death.     Ch.  11. 

2.  The  divided  kingdom,  i  Kings  Ch.  12  to  2  Kings 
Ch.  17. 

The  disruption  and  antagonism  between  the  two 
kingdoms.  Chs.  12-16.  Elijah  and  his  work.  Chs. 
17-19.  The  period  of  intermarriage  between  the  royal 
families  of  the  two  kingdoms,  i  Kings  Ch.  20  to  2 
Kings  Ch.  11.  The  period  ending  with  the  overthrow 
of  Israel.     Chs.  12-17. 

3.  The  kingdom  of  Judah.     Chs.  18-25. 
Hezekiah's  reforms.    Chs.  18-20.    The  reaction.    Ch. 

21.  Josiah  and  the  Book  of  the  Law.  Chs.  22,  23. 
The  final  plunge  into  idolatry  and  the  overthrow.  Chs. 
24  and  25. 

III.  Characteristics 

I.  The  books  are  in  no  proper  sense  a  history  of  the 
period  of  which  they  treat,  much  less  a  collection  of 
biographical  sketches  of  their  kings.     They  attempt  to 


66      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

explain  the  relation  of  the  kingdom  to  God,  and  to 
show  how  plainly  obedience  to  God  brought  prosperity 
and  disobedience  ruin. 

2.  A  special  feature  of  the  record  is  the  prominence 
given  to  the  prophet.  The  book  covers  the  main 
period  of  the  prophetic  activity,  and  continual  refer- 
ence is  made  to  what  they  said  and  did.  During  Solo- 
mon's reign  Nathan,  I  Kings  1:22,  and  Ahijah,  i 
Kings  11:29,  exert  great  influence  over  both  king  and 
people.  Later  we  have  the  record  of  Elijah,  during 
the  reign  of  Ahab,  followed  by  that  of  Elisha.  Still 
later  we  find  Isaiah  speaking  for  God  in  a  way  which 
gave  him  a  tremendous  power  in  the  national  life. 
Incidental  reference  is  made  to  many  others  like 
Micaiah,  i  Kings  22:5-9,  Huldah,  2  Kings  22:14,  and 
an  unnamed  prophet,  I  Kings  13:1-32.  The  prophet 
becomes  the  eye  of  God  to  detect  their  breach  of 
faith  to  their  covenant  with  Jehovah,  and  the  voice  of 
God  to  pronounce  judgment  on  the  rebellious  and 
assure  mercy  to  those  who  are  faithful. 

3.  A  strong  theocratic  tone  pervades  the  book. 
Frequent  reference  is  made  to  the  Mosaic  law,  i  Kings 
2:3;  2  Kings  17:36,  37,  and  these  grow  more  frequent 
as  the  history  advances.  Mention  is  made  of  special 
divine  interference,  I  Kings  11:31;  God  is  recognized 
in  the  appoinment  of  their  kings,  i  Kings  15:4.  Large 
space  is  given  to  the  building  of  God's  Temple,  I 
Kings  Ch.  5-8,  and  it  is  specially  noted  that  at  its 
dedication  the  divine  glory  filled  it,  I  Kings  8:10,  ii. 
When  the  writer  sums  up  the  record  of  each  king,  he 
estimates  his  success  or  failure  not  by  the  magnificence 
of  his  reign,  but  by  his  relation  to  God,  2  Kings 
15:18;   2  Kings  12:2. 


The  Praphcts  6y 

IV.  Sources 

The  book  covers  about  450  years  and  the  writer  had 
to  depend  on  historical  documents  as  the  foundation 
of  his  narrative,  but  he  has  so  woven  his  material 
together  as  to  give  a  unity  to  his  work  and  show  his 
ability  to  understand  the  relative  value  of  the  facts 
with  which  he  had  to  deal. 

For  the  first  time  we  find  authorities  regularly  quoted 
and  the  reader  is  referred  to  documents  where  addi- 
tional information  may  be  obtained  in  regard  to  the 
subject  under  consideration,  I  Kings  14:29.  Three 
such  documents  are  regularly  mentioned:  (i)  "The 
Book  of  the  Acts  of  Solomon,"  I  Kings  11:41,  is  the 
authority  in  regard  to  matters  relating  to  the  reign  of 
Solomon.  (2)  For  the  kings  of  Judah  he  refers  to 
"The  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Judah," 
I  Kings  14:29.  (3)  For  the  kings  of  Israel  he  quotes 
from  "The  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of 
Israel,"  i  Kings  15:31.  These  seem  to  have  been  con- 
temporary records,  official  and  historical,  of  the  several 
kings.  From  David's  time  onward  a  special  officer 
was  appointed  for  this  purpose.  2  Sam.  20:25.  From 
the  Book  of  Chronicles  we  learn  of  several  other  his- 
torical documents,  2  Chron.  12:15,  to  which  he  doubt- 
less had  access.  For  the  latter  part  of  his  history 
there  were  numerous  prophetical  writings  containing 
much  historical  material.  The  fidelity  with  which  he 
refers  to  these  documents  and  the  entire  tone  of  his 
narrative  impress  us  with  confidence  as  to  his  accu- 
racy. 

The  method  of  treatment  of  the  different  kings  is 
also  worthy  of  notice.  When  treating  of  the  kings  of 
Judah,  he  first  mentions  the  name  of  the  king  of  Israel, 


68       Outlines  of  an  I?ttroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

then  gives  the  king's  name,  the  length  of  his  reign, 
and  his  mother's  name.  He  then  tells  us  what  the 
king  did,  and  completes  the  record  by  referring  us  to 
his  authorities  and  making  a  statement  regarding  his 
death,  burial,  and  the  name  of  his  successor,  i  Kings 
15:9-24;  2  Kings  8:16-24.  The  record  of  the  kings  of 
Israel  is  more  brief  but  equally  methodical,  i  Kings 
15:33;  16:5,6.  Immediately  after  the  opening  formula 
he  shows  the  theocratic  impulse  which  underlies  his 
work  by  telling  us  what  was  the  king's  relation  to 
God,  and  then  presenting  the  facts  on  which  he  bases 
his  judgment,     i  Kings  16:15-20. 

V.  Chronology 

The  general  accuracy  of  these  books  is  beyond  ques- 
tion, but  certain  difficulties  are  encountered  when  we 
attempt  to  locate  special  events.  These  difficulties 
may  be  traced  to  two  causes,  the  lack  of  any  exact 
point  from  which  to  compute  the  time,  and  the  pres- 
ence of  certain  facts  which  do  not  seem  to  harmonize 
with  other  known  facts.  Thus,  in  dating  the  acces- 
sion of  the  kings  of  Judah,  instead  of  giving  the  exact 
year  on  which  his  reign  began,  he  tells  us  how  long 
the  contemporary  king  of  Israel  had  been  on  the 
throne,  and  conversely  for  the  kings  of  Israel.  When 
we  add  these  reigns  together  we  find  that  for  the 
period  from  the  death  of  Solomon  to  the  destruction 
of  Samaria,  260  years  are  allotted  to  the  kings  of  Judah, 
while  the  kings  of  Israel  have  241  years,  7  months,  and 
7  days.  (Kautzsch,  Lit.  of  the  0.  T.,  p.  73.)  Here  is 
a  difference  of  nearly  twenty  years.  This  may  doubt- 
less be  explained,  in  part  at  least,  by  the  habit  of 
reckoning   the    part   of   a  year  during  which   a   king 


The  Prophets  69 

reigned  as  a  whole  year,  and  in  part  by  the  fact  that 
in  some  cases  the  successor  of  a  king  was  appointed 
before  the  death  of  his  predecessor,  as  in  the  case  of 
Azariah  and  Jotham,  2  Kings  15:5,  where  the  old  king 
may  have  been  regarded  as  reigning  until  his  death, 
while  his  successor  may  have  dated  his  reign  from  the 
time  when  he  became  coadjutor  to  the  old  king.  Or 
there  may  have  been  an  interregnum  which  was  omitted 
in  the  record. 

On  the  other  hand  specific  dates,  which  seem  incor- 
rect, may  have  been  inserted  by  a  later  hand,  as  i 
Kings  6:1,  which  many  reject.  .  The  dates  in  regard  to 
the  reign  of  Jehoram  are  greatly  confused,  as  are  those 
of  Menahem.  But  these  defects  do  not  properly 
invalidate  the  history  whose  extreme  brevity  prevents 
the  introduction  of  facts  which  might  easily  remove 
our  confusion. 

When  we  compare  the  Book  of  Kings  with  the 
Assyrian  inscriptions  many  difficulties  are  explained 
and  the  two  independent  records  are  found  to  agree  in 
their  general  outlines.  It  is  there  seen  that  the  state- 
ments made  in  the  Scriptures  in  regard  to  the  relation 
of  the  Jews  to  the  surrounding  nations  agree  with  the 
record  made  by  those  nations,  with  differences  so 
trifling  as  to  occasion  no  serious  difficulty.  The 
Moabite  Stone  confirms  the  facts  mentioned  in  2  Kings 
3:4-27.     (Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible ,  III.,  p.  404.) 

VI.  Authorship 

The  silence  of  the  book  as  to  its  origin  opens  the 
way  for  many  conjectures.  The  record  properly 
closes  with  the  overthrow  of  Judah,  and  such  advanced 
critics  as  Wellhausen  claim  for  it  substantially  a  pre- 


70      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

exilic  date,  with  occasional  statements  inserted  later. 
If  2  Kings  25:27  is  a  part  of  the  original  record,  the 
history  is  continued  to  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  the 
captivity,  560  B.  C.  The  character  of  the  Hebrew 
would  indicate  that  it  was  written  about  that  time. 
The  old  Jewish  tradition,  found  in  the  Talmud,  ascribes 
the  work  to  the  prophet  Jeremiah.  With  this  the 
general  tone  and  literary  style  agree.  Some  modern 
critics  refer  it  to  Ezra.  Keil  thinks  it  was  written  by 
some  unknown  Jew  living  in  the  Babylonian  exile. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries:  Rawlinson  in  Speaker's  Cojnmentary, 
Keil,  Lange.  hitroductions  of  Driver,  Keil  and  Bleek. 
Smith,  The  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Church;  Stanley, 
History  of  the  Jezvish  Church. 

II.    THE    LATTER   PROPHETS 
ISAIAH 

I.   Name 

The  book  receives  its  name  from  its  author,  which 
in  Hebrew  signifies  "Salvation  of  God."  Of  his  per- 
sonal history  we  know  but  little.  His  father's  name 
was  Amoz,  i:i,  by  some  thought  to  be  a  brother  of 
king  Amaziah.  He  is  not  to  be  confused  with  the 
prophet  Amos;  the  two  names  being  in  Hebrew 
spelled  quite  differently.  He  was  married,  8:3,  and 
had  two  sons,  7:3  and  8:3.  The  period  of  his  prophet- 
ical activity  was  from  the  last  year  of  Uzziah,  6:1,  to 
the  fourteenth  year  of  Hezekiah,  36:1.  An  unreliable 
Jewish  tradition  locates  his  death  in  the  reign  of 
Manasseh,  when  he  was  sawn  asunder  by  that  king  on 


The  Prophets  71 

account  of  his  persistent  rebuke  of  his  idolatry.  His 
literary  activity,  as  appears  from  2  Chron.  26:22  and 
32:32,  was  not  confined  to  the  book  which  now  bears 
his  name.  Hosea  and  Amos  were  his  contemporary 
prophets  during  the  earlier  part  of  his  ministry,  and 
Micah  during  the  latter. 

The  scene  of  his  ministry  was  Jerusalem,  where  he 
seems  to  have  lived,  2  Kings  20:4,  and  where  he 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  king  and  the 
people,  especially  during  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  37:2. 

His  strong  personality,  his  great  influence  in  civil 
affairs,  his  broad  conception  of  the  world,  the  length 
of  his  ministry,  his  magnificent  style,  and  the  profound 
spiritual  tone  of  his  writings  have  placed  him  at  the 
head  of  the  prophetic  order. 

H.   Position 

In  our  Hebrew  Bible  Isaiah  stands  first  in  the  list  of 
"Latter  Prophets,"  and  this  order  is  found  in  the 
Spanish  manuscripts  and  in  the  Jewish  Massorah.  This 
gives  it  its  correct  chronological  position.  In  the 
Talmud  and  in  the  German  manuscripts  it  follows  Eze- 
kiel,  being  third  in  the  list,  which  reads  Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel,  Isaiah.  The  reason  assigned  for  this  by 
Kimchi  is  that  the  arrangement  is  due  to  the  subject 
matter,  Jeremiah  opening  with  a  sentiment  akin  to 
that  found  in  the  end  of  the  Book  of  Kings.  Bleek 
thinks  the  latter  was  the  original  arrangement. 

HI.  Conditions  under  Which  the  Book  Was 
Written 

Isaiah  began  his  career  just  as  the  long  and  splendid 
reign  of  King  Uzziah  was  drawing  to  its  close,  6:1.     It 


72      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

had  been  an  era  of  great  material  prosperity,  which 
continued  under  Jotham,  his  successor,  but  declined 
under  Ahaz,  whose  numerous  wars  resulted  disastrously 
to  the  physical  resources  of  his  kingdom.  The  acces- 
sion of  Hezekiah,  with  his  high  moral  purposes  and  his 
heroic  effort  to  rescue  his  country  from  the  grasp  of 
her  haughty  invaders,  checked  the  decline,  but  could 
not  finally  avert  it.  If,  according  to  Jewish  tradition, 
the  prophet  lived  to  witness  the  turbulence  and  the 
growing  weakness  of  the  nation  under  Manasseh,  his 
experience  must  have  been  both  exciting  and  depress- 
ing. 

Spiritually  the  changes  were  equally  great  and  dis- 
heartening. Uzziah  had  sought  the  true  spiritual 
development  of  his  people.  Ahaz  openly  cast  aside 
the  faith  of  his  fathers  and  embraced  idolatry.  Under 
Hezekiah  a  grand  reformation  was  wrought,  owing 
doubtless  to  the  persistent  effort  of  Isaiah;  but  under 
the  influence  of  Manasseh  the  nation  sank  again  to  the 
lowest  depths  of  spiritual  degradation  and  was  swept 
away  by  the  Babylonian  invasion  ending  in  the  great 
captivity. 

In  both  civil  and  religious  affairs  Isaiah  was  a  lead- 
ing factor,  always  stoutly  maintaining  fidelity  to  God 
and  justice  to  man.  His  personal  relations  with  the 
royal  families  seem  to  have  been  very  intimate,  and 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  boldly  against  their 
wickedness.  He  was  so  outspoken  against  all  the 
prevalent  forms  of  sin  that  both  court  and  people 
feared  and  honored  him. 

Few  men  have  had  such  a  grand  field  in  which  to 
labor;  none  have  faced  their  responsibilities  more 
manfully,  or  worked  more  energetically  and  hopefully 


The  Prophets  73 

in  the  face  of  difficulty  and  defeat.  As  a  statesman  he 
was  profound  in  detecting  the  evil  influences  at  work 
among  his  people,  and  telling  how  to  avert  them;  as  a 
prophet  he  shows  a  knowledge  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
surpassing  that  of  any  other  prophet. 

IV.  Contents 

It  is  difficult  to  make  a  formal  analysis  of  the  con- 
tents of  this  book.  The  arrangement  is  neither  chro- 
nological nor  topical,  although  we  frequently  find 
similar  topics  grouped  together.  The  following  will 
give  a  general  idea  of  the  contents: 

A.  Earlier  prophecies,  centering  mainly  around  the 
invasion  of  Judah  by  the  allied  forces  of  Syria  and 
Ephraim.     Chs.  1-12. 

1.  Introductory.     Chs.   1-6. 

The  book  opens  with  a  formal  arraignment  charging 
the  people  with  unfaithfulness  and  ingratitude  to  God. 
Chs.  2-4  relate  to  the  judgment  of  God  for  the  pride 
and  luxury  of  the  people,  but  contain  a  vision  of  bless- 
ing for  those  who  are  "left  in  Zion."  Ch.  5  shows 
how  God  is  displeased  with  their  ingratitude.  The 
sixth  chapter  presents  the  peculiar  and  sublime  account 
of  Isaiah's  formal  call  to  his  prophetic  office. 

2.  Prophecies  of  the  Syro-Ephraimitish  war.  Chs. 
7-12. 

The  prophet  addresses  Ahaz  on  the  alliances  against 
him,  and  tells  him  he  is  not  to  fear  the  approach  of  his 
enemies,  Ch.  7:3;  predicts  the  birth  of  Immanuel,  7:14; 
announces  the  terrible  judgments  which  will  fall  on 
those  who  do  not  trust  in  Jehovah,  and  the  surpass- 
ing blessedness  to  follow  the  advent  of  the  wonderful 
child  to  be  born,  9:1-7-     The  peculiar  recurring  refrain 


74      OtUlines  of  an  Introductio7i  to  the  Old  Testament 

Ch.  9:12,  17,  21,  gives  great  solemnity  to  this  utter- 
ance. The  section  closes  with  a  lengthy  statement  of 
the  ambition  and  fall  of  the  Assyrians,  Ch.  10,  and 
gives  a  most  consoling  picture  of  the  kingdom  of 
Messiah,  Ch.  11,  and  of  the  gratitude  which  will 
inspire  the  hearts  of  the  faithful  as  they  enter  upon 
their  blessings,  Ch.  12. 

B.  Oracles   regarding  foreign  nations.     Chs.  13-27. 

1.  The  various  nations  which  have  in  any  way  tried 
to  embarrass  God's  people  are  brought  in  review,  and 
in  a  very  searching  way  told  of  their  sin  and  of  the 
judgment  which  will  follow.  Chs.  13-23.  In  these 
oracles,  or  burdens,  the  prophet  displays  a  profound 
knowledge  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  nations  and  of 
their  designs  upon  the  Jews. 

2.  The  section  concludes  with  a  grand  song  of  tri- 
umph, beginning  with  the  recital  of  God's  judgment 
on  the  ungodly  nations  which  have  thought  to  destroy 
Israel,  Ch.  24,  and  then  passing  on  to  praise  God  for 
His  tender  care  of  His  people.  Both  the  language 
and  the  thought  are  of  the  highest  order.  The  con- 
ception is  lofty  and  the  scope  universal;  the  poetical 
diction  placing  it  among  the  choicest  specimens  of 
Old  Testament  literature.  Embedded  in  the  general 
song  are  four  beautiful  hymns,  25:1-4;  25:6-8;  26:1- 
10;  27:2-6,  which  add  greatly  to  the  effect. 

C.  Prophecies  arising  from  the  relations  between 
Judah,  Assyria,  and  Edom,  during  the  earlier  years 
of  Hezekiah.     Chs.  28-35. 

The  doom  of  Ephraim  is  sure,  Ch.  28:1-13,  but  God 
will  lay  the  corner-stone  of  His  kingdom,  28:14-22; 
Assyria  will  grievously  afflict  Jerusalem,  29:1-8,  but 
God  will  follow  the  downfall  of  the  oppressor  with  a 


The  Prophets  75 

condition  of  unparalleled  blessedness  for  His  people, 
29:9-24.  When  the  people  turn  to  Egypt  for  relief  from 
the  advancing  armies  of  the  Assyrians,  30:2,  Isaiah 
tells  how  unsatisfactory  such  an  alliance  would  be, 
30:8-32:8,  and  declares  that  the  end  of  the  Assyrian 
will  soon  come,  33:1-12;  relieving  the  sadness  of  his 
narrative  by  painting  glowing  pictures  of  the  peace 
and  security  of  God's  kingdom,  33:13-24.  Turning  to 
Edom,  he  contrasts  its  fearful  doom,  Ch.  34,  with  the 
joyful  condition  of  Israel,  when,  as  the  "Ransomed  of 
the  Lord,"  they  return  to  Zion,  Ch.  35. 

D.  Historical  narrative  of  some  events  in  the  life  of 
Hezekiah.     Chs.  36-39. 

The  close  correspondence  between  this  section  and 
2  Kings  18:13-20:19  must  be  carefully  noted. 

Sennacherib,  king  of  Assyria,  invades  Judah  and 
demands  the  surrender  of  Jerusalem,  Ch.  36.  At 
Hezekiah's  request  Isaiah  remonstrates  with  the 
enemy  and  predicts  his  utter  overthrow,  which  quickly 
follows,  Ch.  37.  When  Hezekiah  was  sick  Isaiah  pre- 
dicts his  recovery,  and  when  restored  utters  a  song  of 
thanksgiving,  Ch.  38.  When  Merodach-Baladan,  king 
of  Babylon,  sends  an  embassy  to  Hezekiah,  he  shows 
them  his  treasures,  for  which  he  is  rebuked  by  the 
prophet,  who  predicts  that  the  nation  will  soon  be 
carried  away  to  Babylon,  Ch.  39. 

E.  The  great  deliverance.     Chs.  40-66. 

The  thought  of  deliverance  from  bondage  and  return 
to  their  home-land  pervades  the  entire  section. 
Beginning  with  the  proclamation  of  Cyrus,  authorizing 
their  return,  it  moves  grandly  forward  to  its  consum- 
mation, their  settlement  in  their  own  land  in  the  midst 
of  unspeakable  blessings. 


76      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

This  part  of  the  prophecy  may  be  divided  into  three 
nearly  equal  sections,  each  ending  with  a  similar 
sentiment,     (i)  Chs.  40-48;  (2)  49-57;   (3)  58-66. 

1.  In  the  first  section,  40-48,  the  certainty  of  deliver- 
ance is  emphasized.  After  a  statement  of  the  fact  of 
deliverance,  40:1,  2;  and  of  the  preparations  made  for  it, 
40:3;  the  almighty  power  of  God  is  exalted  in  contrast 
with  heathen  idols,  40:12-44:27;  and  then  the  name  of 
the  human  agent  of  deliverance,  Cyrus,  is  given, 
44:28-45:1.  As  if  to  add  confirmation,  the  prophet 
draws  a  further  contrast  between  Jehovah  and  idols, 
Chs.  45  and  46;  tells  how  the  nation  which  oppressed 
them  is  to  be  overthrown,  Ch.  47;  and  reasserts  the 
unchangeable  purpose  of  God,  Ch.  48. 

2.  In  the  second  section,  Chs.  49-57,  ^^^  call  is  to 
preparation  for  this  return.  In  Ch.  49  "The  Lord's 
Servant"  is  described,  the  nature  of  His  mission  is 
stated,  and  His  sufferings  to  secure  their  release  are 
foretold  in  Chs.  52  and  53.  Zion  is  comforted  by  the 
assurance  of  the  restoration  of  the  divine  favor,  56;  the 
faithless  and  unjust  are  reproved  and  repentance 
urged,  Ch.  57.  The  growing  intensity  of  the  indi- 
viduality of  the  "Lord's  Servant"  is  to  be  specially 
noted  throughout  this  section,  as  also  the  clearness 
with  which  the  idea  of  vicarious  suffering  is  presented. 

3.  In  the  third  section,  Chs.  58-66,  the  grand  result 
of  deliverance  is  presented.  If  the  people  respond  to 
God's  call  He  will  grant  rich  blessings,  58-60.  In  Ch. 
60  we  find  a  glowing  picture  of  the  restored  Zion,  and 
in  Ch.  61  the  Servant  of  the  Lord  reappears.  Ch.  62 
tells  of  His  mission,  and  the  blessings  of  the  restored 
people  are  recounted.  Chs.  63  and  64  celebrate  Israel's 
triumph   over  her  enemies,   and    contain    a   hymn    of 


The   Prophets  yy 

thanksgiving  and  humble  confession,  full  of  spiritual 
fervor  and  gratitude,  magnifying  the  divine  mercy  to 
the  chosen  people.  In  Ch.  65  the  unfaithful  are 
rejected  from  the  coming  blessings  and  the  clioseii  seed 
are  assured  that  a  new  order  will  soon  be  inaugurated, 
greatly  to  their  peace  and  happiness.  Ch.  66  sets 
forth  the  majesty  of  God's  dwelling-place  and  depicts 
the  severe  judgments  to  fall  upon  the  faithless  and  the 
supreme  felicity  of  those  who  dwell  with  God. 

V.  Authorship 

A  careful  reading  of  the  book  reveals  a  great  diver- 
sity of  style  and  sentiment  in  different  parts  of  it. 
This  has  led  to  much  discussion  of  the  question 
whether  one  person  wrote  all  of  it. 

At  first  Chs.  40-66  were  assigned  to  a  person  living 
in  Babylon  near  the  end  of  the  captivity.  Then  a 
large  part  of  the  first  thirty-nine  chapters  were 
declared  to  be  the  work  of  some  one  else  besides 
Isaiah.  Mitchell,  in  A  Study  of  Chapters  1-12,  declares 
that  at  least  ten  full  chapters,  besides  large  portions 
of  others,  are  not  the  genuine  writings  of  Isaiah. 
Some  he  assigns  to  a  predecessor  of  Isaiah,  but 
declares  they  are  mostly  exilic  or  post-exilic,  thus 
leaving  to  Isaiah  but  a  small  part,  and  that  the  least 
important  part  of  the  book. 

Driver,  in  his  hitrodiiction  to  the  Old  Testa77te?it,  page 
236  (Sixth  Ed.),  writing  especially  of  Chs.  40-66,  thus 
presents  the  argument  for  a  later  authorship,  under 
three  heads: 

I.  Internal  Evide?ice. — Jerusalem  is  represented  in 
ruins,  44:26;  58:12;  61:4;  63:18;  64:10.  The  suffer- 
ings of  the  Jews  are  ascribed  to  the  Chaldeans,  42:22, 


78      Outli7ies  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

25;  43:28  (Rev.  Ver.  marg.) ;  47:6;  52:5.  The  end  of  the 
captivity  is  near,  40:2;  46:13;  48:20.  The  prophet 
speaks  not  to  men  in  Jerusalem,  but  to  exiles  in  Baby- 
lon, 40:21,  26,  28;  43:10;  48:8;  50:10;  51:6,  12;  58:3. 
It  would  be  "contrary  to  the  nature  of  prophecy,"  he 
tells  us,  for  one  like  Isaiah  to  so  project  himself  into 
the  future.  We  must  suppose  the  words  were  written 
by  one  living  near  the  facts  recited. 

2.  Literary  Style. — Isaiah,  he  tells  us,  shows  marked 
individualities  of  style.  "His  style  is  terse  and  com- 
pact." "In  the  chapters  which  contain  evident  allu- 
sions to  the  age  of  Isaiah  these  expressions  occur 
repeatedly;  in  the  chapters  which  are  without  such 
allusions,  they  are  absent  and  new  images  and  phrases 
appear  instead."  On  the  other  hand,  the  writer  of 
chapters  40-66  "has  a  style  more  flowing;  the  rhetoric 
is  warm  and  impassioned,  and  the  prophet  often  bursts 
into  a  lyric  strain."  In  Isaiah's  imagination  grandeur 
is  the  most  conspicuous  characteristic,  while  in  the 
writer  of  40-66  it  is  pathos. 

3.  Theology. — "The  theological  ideas  of  Chs.  40-66 
differ  remarkably  from  those  which  appear  from  Chs. 
1-39  to  be  distinctive  of  Isaiah.  Thus,  on  the  nature 
of  God  generally,  the  ideas  expressed  are  much  larger 
and  fuller.  Isaiah  depicts  the  ;;/^V.y/)/ of  Jehovah;  in 
Chs.  40-66  the  prophet  emphasizes  His  irifinitiide y 
"Truths  which  are  merely  affirmed  in  Isaiah  are  here 
made  the  subject  of  reflection  and  argument."  "The 
relation  of  Israel  to  Jehovah  is  developed  in  different 
terms  and  under  different  conceptions  from  those  used 
by  Isaiah." 

The  argument  in  favor  of  assigning  the  authorship  to 
Isaiah  alone  may  be  stated  as  follows: 


The   Prophets  79 

1.  From  the  earliest  reference  to  it  Isaiah  has  been 
regarded  as  the  author  of  the  entire  book.  The  Apoc- 
ryphal book  Ecclesiasticus,  48:22-25,  contains  an 
indirect  quotation  from  Isa.  38:8  and  40:1,  2;  the  first 
reference  being  found  in  the  earlier  portion  of  Isaiah, 
the  second  in  the  latter,  and  both  are  assigned  to 
Isaiah.  The  Septuagint,  250  B.C.,  gives  it  as  one  book, 
and  ascribes  it  to  Isaiah. 

Josephus,  Afitiq.  XI.,  i,  2,  says  it  was  by  reading  the 
prophecies  of  Isaiah,  Cyrus  was  led  to  issue  the  decree 
allowing  the  Jews  to  return  from  captivity.  Allusion 
to  Cyrus  is  found  only  in  the  second  part  of  Isaiah. 
It  would  be  strange  that  Cyrus  could  have  been 
deceived  into  believing  that  a  writing  of  his  own  time 
had  been  uttered  so  long  before. 

In  the  New  Testament  Isaiah  is  quoted  more  than 
one  hundred  times;  his  name  being  mentioned  twenty- 
two  times,  eleven  of  which  are  in  the  first  section  and 
eleven  in  the  second.  In  none  of  them  is  any  intima- 
tion given  of  a  division  of  authorship.  Christ  quotes 
from  both  sections,  ascribing  them  to  Isaiah. 

2.  The  book,  as  it  now  stands,  forms  a  systematic 
work;  if  we  separate  it,  both  parts  are  incomplete. 
Each  part  is  necessary  to  explain  the  other.  Chs. 
36-39  form  a  prose  connection  between  these  parts, 
throwing  light  on  what  precedes,  and  opening  the  way 
for  what  follows.  In  the  earlier  parts,  Chs.  1-39,  is  a 
picture  of  woe  and  suffering,  a  just  judgment  for  sin; 
in  the  second  part,  Chs.  40-66,  the  dark  picture  is 
relieved  by  the  promise  of  deliverance  and  salvation 
when  that  sin  is  repented  of  and  forgiven.  This  is 
the  usual  course  of  prophetical  teaching,  warning  fol- 
lowed by  encouragement.     To  place  one  hundred  and 


So      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

fifty  years  between  these  two  parts  renders  both 
incomplete  and  makes  Isaiah,  as  seen  in  the  first  sec- 
tion, a  prophet  of  woe  unlike  any  other  of  the  prophets. 
Delitzsch,  in  his  Commentary  on  Isaiah,  II.,  65,  says, 
"The  first  half  of  the  collection  is  a  staircase  leading 
up  to  the  addresses  to  the  exiles." 

3.  Over  against  the  first  argument  of  Driver,  "In- 
ternal Evidence,"  we  find  many  passages  in  the  second 
part  which  read  as  if  they  were  written,  not  in  Baby- 
lon, during  the  exile,  but  before  the  exile  began.  In 
42:9  Isaiah  expressly  says  he  is  about  to  reveal  new 
things  before  they  spring  forth.  In  43:22,23  he 
charges  the  people  with  neglecting  the  sacrificial  wor- 
ship, and  in  66:3  says  their  sacrifices  are  offered  with 
an  improper  spirit;  charges  hardly  applicable  to  the 
people  in  Babylon.  In  40:2  he  speaks  comfortably  to 
Jerusalem;  a  strange  procedure  if  the  city  had  long 
lain  in  ashes  and  was  forsaken  of  her  people. 

4.  As  opposed  to  the  second  objection  of  Driver, 
"Literary  Style,"  we  argue  that  the  language  of  the 
book  shows  unity  of  authorship.  This  is  seen  in  the 
special  use  of  words,  as  14:7,  "They  break  forth  into 
singing,"  used  also  in  44:23  and  49:13,  and  nowhere 
else  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  peculiar  pointing  of 
the  verb  amar,  when  introducing  a  special  message 
from  Jehovah,  in  i:ii,  18;  33:10,  agrees  with  that  found 
in  40:1,  25;  41:21,  and  is  peculiar  to  Isaiah.  The  ex- 
pression "The  Holy  One  of  Israel"  is  found  fourteen 
times  in  each  section,  and  nowhere  else  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

5.  The  same  fact  appears  in  the  theological  ideas 
of  the  book.  In  the  first  part,  Chs.  7-1 1,  we  have  the 
Immanuel  prophecy,  and  this  is  fitly  supplemented  in 


The  Prophets  8 1 

Chs.  52  and  53  by  the  Suffering  Messiah.  Orelli, 
Comm.y  p.  213,  who  thinks  the  work  as  it  now  stands 
has  been  edited  by  a  later  hand,  says,  "That  the 
entire  book  as  it  now  lies  before  us  comes  from  one 
author  is  undoubted."  "The  book  in  its  present  form 
was  written  by  one  author,  from  whom  we  have 
scarcely  anything  else  in  the  Bible."  In  another  place, 
speaking  of  Chs.  13,  14,  21,  25,  which  some  critics 
claim  were  not  written  by  Isaiah,  he  says,  "The  resem- 
blances point  to  this,  that  the  author,  if  not  identical 
with  Isaiah,  drank  in  the  spirit  of  his  book  as  regards 
form."  If  the  spirit  is  identical,  why  is  it  necessary 
to  tear  the  book  into  fragments  and  then  assign  each 
fragment  to  a  different  author? 

From  this  survey  of  the  arguments,  while  we 
acknowledge  the  cogency  of  many  of  the  points  raised 
in  opposition  to  the  unity  of  the  book,  we  see  no 
sufficient  reason  for  departing  from  the  settled  opinion 
that  Isaiah  is  the  author  of  the  entire  book.  It  has 
doubtless  met  with  some  modifications  by  later  editors, 
as  have  so  many  of  the  Old  Testament  books,  yet  they 
are  not  of  such  a  character  as  to  deprive  Isaiah  of  the 
claim  to  authorship.  Until  more  positive  and  decisive 
reasons  are  presented,  the  claim  for  a  divided  author- 
ship must  stand  as  "not  proven." 

LITERATURE 

Conunciitaries :  Delitzsch,  Alexander,  Cheyne  and  G. 
A.  Smith.  Introductions  of  Driver  and  Keil.  For  a 
very  exhaustive  and  satisfactory  defense  of  the  unity 
of  Isaiah,  see  Margoliouth,  Li7ies  of  Defe7ise  of  the 
Biblical  Revelation,  pp.  72-138.  For  the  more  radical 
view,  see  Cheyne,   The  Book  of  Isaiah  Chronologically 


82      Otttlmes  of  a?i  Iiitroductioti  to  the  Old  Testament 

Arranged;  Driver,  Isaiah,  His  Life  and  Times.  For 
the  unity  of  the  book  see  Douglas,  Isaiah  0?ie  and 
His  Book  One ;  Sayce,  Fresh  Light  from  the  Ancient 
Montmients  a?id  The  Times  of  Isaiah;  Forbes,  The  Servant 
of  the  Lord;  articles  on  Isaiah  in  Smith's  Bible  Diction- 
ary^ and  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 

JEREMIAH 
I.  Name 

The  Hebrew  name,  Yeremyahu,  or  more  briefly 
Yermeyah,  has  been  variously  explained.  Jerome, 
"Whom  Jehovah  exalts" ;  Gesenius,  "Whom  Jehovah 
appoints";  Bleek,  "Whom  Jehovah  hurls  or  casts." 
He  was  born  in  Anathoth,  i:i,  in  the  tribe  of  Benja- 
min, two  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  Jerusalem. 
He  belonged  to  a  priestly  family,  his  father's  name 
being  Hilkiah.  This  was  not  the  High  Priest  of  that 
name,  whose  home  would  have  been  in  Jerusalem,  but 
probably  a  descendant  of  Abiathar,  whom  Solomon 
banished  to  Anathoth,  i  Kings  2:26.  Jeremiah  fre- 
quently visited  his  native  place,  ii:i8ff. ;  37:1  iff., 
although  his  severe  condemnation  of  the  sins  of  his 
people  caused  them  to  treat  him  with  contempt,  29:27, 
and  even  to  seek  his  life,  11:21.  By  divine  command 
he  remained  unmarried,  16:2. 

While  yet  a  youth  he  was  called  to  be  a  prophet, 
1:6;  and  the  sad  character  of  his  mission  was  revealed 
to  him,  1:10.  He  began  his  official  career  in  the  thir- 
teenth year  of  King  Josiah,  626  B.  C,  and  continued 
it  until  the  captivity  in  586  B.  C.  When  Nebuzaradan 
first  arranged  to  take  the  people  to  Babylon,  Jeremiah 
was  given  the  choice  of  going  to  Babylon,  with  the 


The  Prophets  83 

promise  of  promotion  in  the  royal  palace,  40:4;  or 
remaining  with  the  remnant  in  Mizpah,  40:6;  choosing 
the  latter.  Shortly  after,  apparently  against  his  will, 
43:5,  he  went  into  Egypt  and  settled  in  Tahpanhes, 
43:9,  where  he  continued  his  stern  rebuke  of  their  sin, 
and  according  to  tradition  was  stoned  to  death  for  his 
fidelity.  According  to  another  tradition  he  died  in 
Babylon.  In  2  Mac.  2:iff.  there  is  a  curious  account 
telling  how  Jeremiah,  when  the  temple  was  burned, 
took  the  ark  and  other  holy  things  and  hid  them  in  a 
cave  on  Mt.  Horeb,  there  to  remain  until  Messiah 
should  appear.  Another  idea  was  that  Jeremiah  him- 
self would  one  day  reappear.  Matt.  16:14. 


II.  The  Conditions  under  Which  He  Wrote 

The  announcement  made  to  him  when  he  received 
his  call,  1:10,  is  the  key  to  his  ministry.  He  appeared 
at  a  time  when  the  nation  was  absorbed  in  idolatry  and 
sensuality,  and  his  life-work  was  to  rebuke  it.  Because 
of  this  he  was  reproached  as  disloyal,  26:8;  and  treated 
with  contempt,  38:4-6;  and  great  harshness,  37:21. 
The  men  of  his  native  town  tried  to  kill  him,  11:21; 
the  king  hated  and  imprisoned  him,  and  was  prevented 
from  killing  him  only  by  fear  of  the  consequences 
upon  himself.  His  life  was  a  perpetual  conflict.  He 
bewails  the  day  of  his  birth,  20:14;  he  sheds  bitter 
tears  over  the  persistent  sins  of  the  people,  9:1;  he 
suffers  the  most  humiliating  punishment,  20:2;  lan- 
guishes in  filthy  prisons,  38:6;  but  never  once  with- 
holds the  divine  word,  and  dies  with  so  little  affection 
that  no  one  has  recorded  either  the  time  or  the  manner 
of  his  death. 


84      Oiitlmcs  of  a?i  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

III.  Peculiarities  of  His  Book 

The  Book  of  Jeremiah  is  apparently  written  in  a  v^ery 
disconnected  way.  It  is  made  up  of  addresses,  some 
of  them  very  brief,  which  are  neither  topically  nor 
chronologically  arranged.  Possibly  the  conditions 
under  which  he  wrote  may  explain  this,  for  the  state 
was  fast  rushing  down  to  its  doom  and  Jeremiah  him- 
self lived  in  a  state  of  constant  unrest. 

In  36:1-4  we  are  told  how  the  book  came  to  be  writ- 
ten. In  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim,  twenty  years 
after  he  began  to  prophesy,  Jehovah  tells  him  to  write 
it.  Later,  when  Jehoiakim  threw  his  prophetic  roll 
into  the  fire,  36:23,  he  greatly  enlarged  it.  In  30:2  a 
record  is  made  of  another  command  to  write,  but  how 
much  of  our  present  book  is  included  in  it  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing. 

That  the  present  book  is  a  compend  of  Jeremiah's 
teaching,  rather  than  a  full  report,  may  be  assumed, 
since  so  long  and  active  a  ministry  would  result  in  a 
larger  amount  of  material  than  is  here  represented. 

A  very  perplexing  feature  of  the  book  is  the  great 
difference  between  the  Hebrew  text  as  we  have  it  in 
our  Hebrew  Bible  and  the  Greek  text  known  as  the 
Septuagint,  made  about  250  B.  C.  Two  points  may  be 
specially  noted: 

(i)  The  Greek  text  is  much  shorter  than  the  Hebrew, 
the  difference  being  about  2,700  words,  one-eighth  of 
the  entire  amount.  Sometimes  only  a  word  is  omitted, 
at  other  times  an  entire  paragraph.     (10:6-8;  33:14-26.) 

(2)  There  is  also  a  great  difference  in  the  order  in 
which  the  events  are  recorded.  A  series  of  utterances 
against  foreign  nations  begins  in  the  Hebrew  with 
Ch.  46,  and  continues  to  the  end  of  Ch.   51.     In  the 


The  Prophets  85 

Septuagint  this  is   inserted   after   Ch.   25:13,   and   the 
order  in  which  they  are  mentioned  is  different. 

These  variations  have  been  explained  as  due  to  the 
carelessness  of  the  scribes,  or  to  the  existence  of  two 
different  copies  of  the  Hebrew  text,  prepared  perhaps 
by  the  same  person,  but  designed  for  different  pur- 
poses. Neither  explanation  is  satisfactory.  Most 
critics  agree  that  the  Hebrew  is  the  form  in  which  Jere- 
miah left  it. 

IV.  Style 

It  is  difficult  to  form  an  opinion  as  to  the  true  style 
of  Jeremiah,  from  the  fact  that  his  book  is  largely  a 
condensed  statement  made  long  after  the  original 
address  was  delivered,  36:2;  and  his  purpose  was  to 
preserve  the  contents  of  his  thought  rather  than  the 
full  form  in  which  it  was  originally  expressed.  Com- 
pared with  the  earlier  prophets,  Jeremiah  lacks  the 
condensed  energy  which  marks  their  writings.  He 
has  many  repetitions,  and  there  is  little  of  the  rhyth- 
mical flow  seen  in  Isaiah.  This  may  be  accounted  for, 
in  part,  by  the  fact  that  his  utterances  are  largely 
limited  to  one  theme,  and  that  of  a  depressing  char- 
acter. 

But  he  is  not  lacking  in  force  and  often  rises  to  a 
lofty  poetical  power,  8:20.  The  expression  of  his 
sadness  over  the  perversity  of  the  people  is  most  ten- 
der and  pathetic,  2:13;  9:1.  His  denunciation  of  the 
persistent  sinner  is  most  energetic  and  at  times  almost 
fierce  in  its  energy,  I5:iff;  5:15-19.  At  times  there  is 
an  elegiac  beauty  which  is  rarely  equalled,  i8:i4ff, 
22:6ff,  14:7-9;  while  his  symbolic  teachings  are 
pointed  and  effective,  as  the  linen  girdle,  13:1;  break- 


86      Outlines  of  mi  hitroductio^i  to  the  Old  Testament 

ing  the  earthen  pitcher,  19:1;    the  good  and  bad  figs, 
24:iff;  the  wooden  and  iron  yoke,  27:2ff. 

V.   Doctrinal  Teachings 

Owing  partly  to  the  peculiar  mission  of  Jeremiah 
and  partly  to  his  own  personality,  he  has  given 
unusually  full  expression  to  the  cardinal  doctrines 
which  underlie  religion.  This  may  be  seen  in  his 
utterances: 

I.  About  God. 

He  maintains  the  unique  character  of  Jehovah  as 
contrasted  with  idols,  16:19-21.  He  alone  rules  among 
the  nations,  10:1-16;  25:15-31.  He  knows  the  hearts 
of  men,  17:10.  There  is  no  hiding  from  Him,  23:23,  24. 
He  loves  His  people,  2:1-3.  He  hears  the  cry  of  the 
needy,  4:1,  2.  He  will  punish  wrong-doers,  11:8.  He 
will  save  the  penitent,  3:11-15;  24:4-7.  He  is  a  cove- 
nant-keeping God,  33:20,  21.  Especially  does  he  exalt 
the  love  of  God  for  His  people.  Nothing  can  exceed 
the  tenderness  of  passages  like  Chs.  2  and  33,  in  which 
Jehovah  tells  of  the  delight  He  has  in  His  people  and 
of  the  great  things  He  is  ready  to  do  for  them.  If  He 
punishes  them  it  is  that  by  their  return  to  Him  He 
may  renew  and  enlarge  His  mercies,  Ch.  31.  His 
love  is  an  everlasting  love,  31:3.  He  is  the  Father  of 
His  people,  31:9.  His  heart  yearns  over  them,  31:20. 
Nowhere  in  the  Old  Testament  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
divine  love  made  more  conspicuous  than  in  Jeremiah. 

2.  About  sin. 

The  wretched  condition  of  the  people  is  not  occa- 
sioned by  anything  in  God,  2:5,  but  grows  out  of  the 
people's  disregard  for  God,  1:16;    2:13.     The  seat  of 


The   Prophets  87 

sin  is  in  the  heart,  17:9.  Sin  brings  down  the  judg- 
ments of  God,  16:18.  Man  alone  cannot  overcome  it, 
13:23;  but  God  is  willing  to  forgive  it,  31:34;  36:3. 

3.  About  salvation. 

Although  Jeremiah  sees  the  people  defiant  in  their 
sin  and  doomed  to  destruction,  he  sees  also  a  day  of 
better  knowledge  of  God,  24:7;  when  God  will  write 
His  law  on  their  hearts,  31:31-34;  and  a  good  shepherd 
will  come  to  lead  His  people  back  to  God,  23:4;  and 
they  shall  be  His  people  forever,  32:36-42. 

A  formal  analysis  is  exceedingly  difficult,  owing  to 
the  lack  of  either  topical  or  chronological  arrange- 
ment. The  earlier  part  is  a  condensed  abstract  of  the 
work  of  years,  with  few  indications  of  the  time  or  cir- 
cumstances under  which  it  was  written;  in  the  latter 
part  the  time  of  the  different  utterances  is  carefully 
stated,  but  the  grouping  of  the  facts  is  based  largely 
on  the  contents.  We  submit  the  following  as  a  gen- 
eral outline,  but  subject  to  many  modifications, 

VI.  Contents 

1.  A  condensed  abstract  of  Jeremiah's  earlier  work, 
Chs.  1-21.  This  section  opens  with  the  account  of 
Jeremiah's  call,  1:1,  and  covers  his  work  until  the 
fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim.  The  general  subjects  are 
rebukes  for  sin,  warning  to  those  who  do  not  repent, 
and  promises  of  forgiveness  and  mercy  to  those  who 
are  faithful. 

2.  Short  prophecies  against  the  kings  of  Israel  and 
the  false  prophets  in  whom  they  were  confiding,  Chs. 
22-28.  The  growing  disregard  for  God  ends  in  the 
announcement  of  the  great  captivity  which  will  con- 
tinue  for  seventy  years,  25:12.     This   is   followed,    in 


88      Outlines  of  an  hitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

Chs.  26-28,  by  more  detailed  accounts  of  the  coming 
disaster,  the  shock  of  which  will  be  felt  by  all  nations, 
25:15,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  Jeremiah's  message 
is  received  by  the  people. 

3.  Advice  to  the  captives  in  Babylon,  and  the  prom- 
ise of  restoration,  Chs.  29-33.  At  the  opening  of  Ch. 
29  we  find  the  people  in  Babylon,  according  to  the 
prophet's  declaration,  but  restless  because  false  proph- 
ets tell  of  a  speedy  end  of  the  captivity.  Jeremiah 
urges  them  to  be  quiet  and  build  houses  and  seek  the 
peace  [of  the  city  where  they  dwell,  29:4-7,  and 
patiently  wait  for  the  completion  of  the  seventy  years 
when  God  will  open  the  way  for  their  return  and  Jeru- 
salem will  be  rebuilt,  30:18.  In  that  day  a  new  and 
better  covenant,  written  on  the  heart,  will  ensure 
faithfulness  on  the  part  of  the  people  and  great  spirit- 
ual blessing  from  God,  31:31-34.  In  this  section  the 
sublimest  heights  of  Messianic  prophecy  are  reached, 
33:14-26. 

4.  Details  of  Jeremiah's  efforts  during  the  siege  of 
Jersualem  and  after  it  had  fallen,  Chs.  34-45.  This 
narrative  is  interrupted  by  Chs.  35  and  36,  which  refer 
back  to  the  time  of  Jehoiakim.  Chs.  34,  37,  38  describe 
the  personal  work  of  Jeremiah  before  the  city  fell, 
and  Chs.  39  to  45  relate  Jeremiah's  history  after  the 
fall  of  the  city  and  the  flight  of  the  remnant  into  Egypt. 

5.  Prophecies  concerning  foreign  nations,  Chs.  46-51. 
We  note  here  a  great  similarity  to  Chs.  13  to  23  of 
Isaiah.  Egypt,  the  Philistines,  Moab,  the  Ammonites, 
and  Babylon  are  severely  arraigned  for  their  sins  and 
their  overthrow  predicted. 

6.  Historical  appendix.  Ch.  52  tells  of  the  time 
when  Jerusalem  was  destroyed  and  the  people  carried 


The  Prophets  89 

away  to  Babylon.     It  is  almost  a  verbal  reproduction 
of  the  account  found  in  2  Kings  24  and  25. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries :  Lange,  Keil,  and  Ball  in  Expositor s 
Bible.  Workman,  The  Text  of  Jeremiah ;  Cheyne,  Jere- 
7niah^  His  Life  and  Times ;  Stanley,  Lecttires  o?i  the  Jewish 
Church,  II.,  p.  57off;  article  "J<^^^"^^^h"  in  Bible  Dic- 
tionaries of  Smith  and  Hastings. 

EZEKIEL 

I.  Name 

Ezekiel,  "God  is  strong,"  or  "God  strengthens,"  the 
son  of  Buzi,  was  a  priest  whose  high  position  is  indi- 
cated by  the  fact  that  he  was  among  the  captives  who 
accompanied  King  Jehoiachin  to  Babylon  in  597  B.  C, 
eleven  years  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  2 
Kings  24:14,  15.  This  company  was  located  on  the 
river  or  canal  Chebar,  1:3,  supposed  to  be  near  Baby- 
lon, where  they  enjoyed  much  comfort  and  freedom. 
Ezekiel  had  his  own  house,  3:24,  to  which  the  elders 
frequently  came  for  advice  and  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, 8:1.  His  mission  as  a  prophet  was  at  first 
misunderstood,  3:24-26;  I2:iff. ;  but  after  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  was  more  highly  appreciated,  33:30-32, 
although  his  advice  was  not  always  followed.  Beyond 
the  fact  of  his  marriage,  24:15-18,  we  know  nothing  of 
his  personal  history. 

II.  Date 

His  prophetic  work  began,  1:2,  in  the  fifth  year  of 
the  exile  of  Jehoiachin,  592  B.  C,  and  continued  until 
570  B.  C,  a  period  of  twenty-two  years,  29:17.      It  is 


90      Outlines  of  a?i  Introdtiction  to  the  Old  Testame^it 

worthy  of  note  that  between  584  B.  C.  (32:1)  and  572 
B.  C.  (40:1)  no  prophecies  are  recorded;  but  his  work 
as  a  teacher  was  unbroken.  During  the  earlier  part 
of  his  ministry  Jeremiah  was  his  co-laborer,  as  Daniel 
was  during  the  latter  part. 

III.  Characteristics 

1.  There  is  no  question  as  to  authorship;  the  unity 
and  authenticity  being  unassailed. 

2.  The  style  in  its  literary  finish  falls  below  that  of 
Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  giving  plain  evidence  of  his  resi- 
dence in  Babylon,  and  having  many  irregularities  in 
its  grammatical  construction.  Words  and  expres- 
sions peculiar  to  himself  frequently  occur.  Sym- 
bols, 4:1-17;  21:18-27;  allegories,  16:1-63;  24:1-14; 
visions,  8:iff;  37:1-14;  and  parables,  15:1-8;  I7:iff, 
abound.  These  figures  are  presented  with  much  vigor 
and  are  often  elaborately  developed,  23:1-49.  Some 
of  them  possess  great  beauty  both  of  conception  and 
expression,  as  the  lamentation  over  Tyre,  27:iff,  and 
the  figure  of  Jerusalem  as  a  foundling  child,  i6:iff. 
His  vivid  imagination  is  perhaps  his  most  marked  char- 
acteristic, although  some  of  his  passages  reveal  a  won- 
derful richness  and  elegance  of  expression,  8:11-19. 

3.  The  moral  earnestness  of  Ezekiel  is  conspicuous. 
This  may  be  seen  especially  in  his  fearless  denuncia- 
tion of  idolatry  during  his  early  ministry,  6:1-7;  I4:iff. 
His  bold  words  often  endangered  his  life,  3:25-27. 
He  denounces  their  Sabbath  desecration,  20:13;  23:38. 
He  reproves  them  for  their  alliance  with  Egypt,  20:7; 
16:26.  He  emphasizes  the  need  of  studying  God's 
law,  8:1;  14:1,  and  encourages  them  by  promising 
great  blessings  in  the  future,  Chs.  40-48. 


The   Prophets  g  i 

4.  His  apocalyptic  teachings  are  a  new  feature  of 
prophecy  and  are  the  basis  of  what  we  find  more  elab- 
orately developed  in  Daniel,  Zechariah,  and  in  the 
Revelation  of  John.  Compare  3:12-14  with  Rev. 
1:10;  4:2.  Compare  also  11:24  with  Dan.  7:2,  Zech. 
1:8,   Rev.  17:3. 

5.  The  evidence  of  Ezekiel's  priestly  character  is 
everywhere  apparent.  He  dwells  lovingly  on  every- 
thing peculiar  to  the  Jewish  ceremonial;  deplores  the 
abuses  of  it  by  the  priests,  22:26;  is  himself  an  ardent 
student  of  the  law  and  encourages  the  people  to  study 
it,  20:1;  33:30-32.  In  his  picture  of  restored  Israel, 
the  temple  is  the  central  feature,  37:26-28;  Chs.  40-48. 
He  makes  neglect  of  God's  law  the  foundation  of  all 
their  troubles,  and  when  they  shall  return  to  it  a  glory 
will  attend  Israel  more  luminous  than  that  of  old. 
This  devotion  to  the  law,  especially  the  priestly  func- 
tions of  it,  exerted  a  powerful  influence  on  Israel  and 
was  felt  with  increasing  power  in  their  later  history. 

6.  In  his  doctrinal  statements  Ezekiel  is  very  clear. 
His  idea  of  God,  as  seen  in  Chs.  i,  8,  10,  43,  develops 
not  only  His  holiness  and  spirituality,  but  His  rela- 
tion to  men  and  the  world.  The  relation  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  God  is  strongly  emphasized,  i8:iff.  The 
ultimate  reason  for  all  God's  dealings  with  Israel  is 
made  to  reside  in  God  Himself,  36:21;  20:44.  The 
special  teachings  of  Chs.  40  and  48  gave  color  to  their 
Messianic  hopes.  The  combination  of  religious  and 
civil  elements  in  that  glowing  picture  gave  inspiration 
to  their  struggles  to  throw  off  their  yoke  of  bondage 
to  a  foreign  nation  and  greatly  intensified  their  love 
for  the  temple  and  its  services. 

7.  In  Chs.  40  to  48  Ezekiel  develops  his  Messianic 


92      Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

conceptions  with  great  force.  He  looks  not  so  much 
at  the  person  of  the  Messiah  as  at  His  kingdom.  The 
central  figure  of  the  kingdom  is  the  temple,  where 
Jehovah  dwells  and  where  all  nations  gather  and 
become  holy  unto  Jehovah.  The  words  of  Ezekiel  in 
regard  to  this  reconstructed  kingdom  and  temple 
became  an  inspiration  to  the  people.  When  they 
returned  and  began  to  rebuild,  under  Haggai  and 
Zechariah,  they  saw  not  the  plain  structure  their 
hands  were  erecting,  but  the  magnificent  building  pic- 
tured by  Ezekiel,  whose  glory  was  ultimately  to  fill 
the  earth,  Hag.  2:6-9.  -^^^^  ^^^s  thought  never  left 
them. 

IV.  Contents 

The  book  is  naturally  divided  into  four  sections: 

1.  Prophecies  directed agai?istjtcdah.  Chs.  1-24.  These 
were  all  uttered  previous  to  the  final  capture  and 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The  earlier  ones  are  care- 
fully dated.  After  the  account  of  his  call  to  the 
prophetic  office,  1:1-3:27,  he  predicts  the  siege  and 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Chs.  4  and  5,  and  includes 
the  entire  kingdom  in  the  ruin,  Chs.  6  and  7.  The 
idolatries  and  shameful  sins  of  the  people  are  vividly 
set  forth,  Chs.  8-11,  and  the  certainty  of  doom  again 
declared,  Chs.  12-24. 

2.  Prophecies  agahist  foreign  7mtio?is.  Chs.  2j-j2. 
Most  of  these  were  uttered  soon  after  the  fall  of  Jeru- 
salem and  are  designed  not  only  to  declare  the  utter 
overthrow  of  Israel's  enemies  who  now  seemed  to  tri- 
umph over  them,  but  to  reassure  Israel  who  now  needed 
encouragement.  These  prophecies  relate  to  Ammon, 
25:1-7;  Moab,  25:8-11;  Edom,  25:12-14;  the  Philistines, 


The  PropJicts  93 

25:15-17;  Tyre,  26:1  to  28:19;  Sidon,  28:20-26;  a  group 
of  six  utterances  against  Egypt,  29:1  to  32:32. 

3.  Prophecies  littered  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  Chs. 
JJ-jg.  After  a  long  silence  anew  statement  respecting 
the  prophetic  office  is  made,  Ch.  33,  and  he  proceeds 
to  speak. 

(a)  Of  the  shepherding  of  his  people.  Ch.  34.  They 
have  had  very  unfaithful  shepherds,  34:1-16;  even  the 
flock  itself  has  become  demoralized,  17-22;  but  Jeho- 
vah will  raise  up  a  good  shepherd,  23,  24,  even  His 
own  servant  David,  and  will  make  a  covenant  of  peace 
with  His  flock,  25-31.  (See  this  thought  as  developed 
in  Jer.  23.) 

(d)  Of  their  own  land  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem. 
Chs.  35  and  36.  After  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  Edom  had 
invaded  the  territory  of  Judah  and  needlessly  humili- 
ated and  caused  suffering  to  the  few  remaining  there. 
On  this  account  God  will  make  Edom  a  perpetual 
desolation,  35:1-15;  while  the  holy  land  will  be  rebuilt 
and  inhabited  by  a  happy  people  restored  to  joyful 
relations  with  their  God,  36:1-15.  All  this  is  to  be 
done,  not  for  their  sake,  but  for  the  glory  of  God's 
holy  name,  36:16-38. 

(c)  Of  the  future  of  his  people.  Ch.  37.  They  are 
now  scattered  and  seemingly  lifeless  as  dead  men's 
bones,  37:1.  They  thought  they  were  cut  off  and  dis- 
owned, 11;  but  God  will  put  new  life  into  them  and 
place  them  again  in  their  own  land,  14.  Under  the 
symbol  of  two  sticks  united  into  one,  I7ff,  God  teaches 
that  this  restored  glory  is  not  for  Judah  alone,  but 
Ephraim  shall  also  share  in  it,  22,  and  David  shall 
become  king  over  them,  24. 

{d)  Of   the    final    conflict    between    Israel    and    her 


94      Outlines  of  an  Introdiictio7i  to  the  Old  Testament 

enemies.  Chs.  38,  39.  Gog,  leader  of  vast  hosts,  38:2, 
appears  to  overthrow  the  people  of  God.  He  is  told 
that  Jehovah  will  protect  Israel,  17-23;  Gog  will  be 
utterly  destroyed,  39:1-10;  wild  beasts  will  devour  the 
carcasses  of  his  mighty  army,  17-20;  but  Israel  will  be 
established  forever,  25-29. 

4.  The  coming  glory  of  Israel.  CJis.  40-48.  In  this 
section  he  minutely  describes. 

{a)  The  Temple.  Chs.  40  to  43:12.  In  a  vision  Eze- 
kiel  is  transported  from  Babylon  to  Jerusalem  in  the 
twenty-fifth  year  of  the  captivity,  40:1;  there  he 
meets  a  man  who  proceeds  to  measure  the  temple, 
which  has  been  rebuilt,  and  to  describe  minutely  all 
its  parts,  40:5  to  42:20.  Into  this  temple  "the  glory 
of  God"  enters  and  fills  it,  43:1-12,  as  it  had  departed 
from  the  old  temple  nineteen  years  before,  10:18. 

{b)  The  Service.  Chs.  43:13-46:24.  The  altar  of  this 
new  temple  is  described,  43:13-27;  foreigners  are 
excluded,  44:5-14;  regulations  for  priestly  services  are 
made,  44:15  to  45:8,  and  for  the  prince,  45:9-17;  and 
offerings  prescribed,  45:18  to  46:24. 

{c)  The  Holy  Land.  Chs.  47  and  48.  The  living 
waters  from  the  temple  flow  through  it,  47:1-12;  its 
boundaries  are  designated,  48:13-23;  the  tribes  are 
located  in  it,  seven  on  the  north  and  five  on  the  south 
of  the  temple,  48:1-29;  the  twelve  gates  of  the  city  are 
named,  48:30-34;  and  its  new  name,  Jehovah  Sham- 
mah,  "Jehovah  is  there,"  is  given  to  it,  48:35. 

LITERATURE 

Comme7itaries :  Skinner,  in  Expositors  Bible^  Keil, 
Fairbairn,  and  Lange.  Article  "Ezekiel"  in  Bible 
Dictionaries  of  Smith  and  Hastings;  Introdiictio7is  of 
Driver,  Keil,  Bleek. 


The  Prophets  95 

HOSEA 

I.   Name 

Hosea,  "Salvation."  The  name  is  conspicuous  in 
Jewish  history,  having  been  the  original  name  of 
Joshua,  the  successor  of  Moses,  Num.  13:8,  and  of  the 
last  king  of  Israel,  2  Kings  17:1.  He  lived  in  the 
kingdom  of  Israel,  and  his  prophecies  relate  almost 
wholly  to  that  kingdom.  His  father's  name  was 
Beeri,  1:1,  and  his  wife's  name  Gomer,  1:3.  He  had 
three  children,  whose  names  had  a  symbolic  meaning. 
From  the  constant  introduction  of  figures  drawn  from 
agriculture,  it  has  been  inferred  that  he  belonged  to 
that  class.  Others,  for  a  similar  reason,  have  thought 
he  was  a  priest.  From  9:7,  8  it  would  seem  that  he 
suffered  reproach  on  account  of  his  message. 

II.  The  Political  Conditions 

According  to  the  inscription,  whose  genuineness  has 
been  doubted  (Driver,  I?it.  to  the  0.  T.,  p.  302),  Hosea 
began  to  prophesy  toward  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Jeroboam  II.,  about  750  B.  C.  Driver  fixes  his  date 
746-734  B.  C.  Jeroboam  II.  had  a  long  and  illustrious 
career,  greatly  strengthening  his  kingdom  and  gaining 
many  victories  abroad;  but  morally  there  was  a  great 
decline.  Selfishness,  oppression  of  the  poor,  luxury, 
and  lust  sapped  the  moral  energies  of  the  nation,  Chs. 
3,  4,  and  the  priesthood  shared  in  the  degradation, 
Ch.  5. 

After  the  death  of  Jeroboam  came  a  period  of  fear- 
ful political  corruption  and  disorder.  Scarcely  would 
a  king  be  seated  on  the  throne  before  he  was  mur- 
dered by  a  rival  who  succeeded  him.     Lust  and  greed 


96      Outlines  of  an  Tntroductio?i  to  the  Old  Testament 

increased  until  the  confusion  foretold  disaster  and 
ruin,  Ch.  6.  Ominous  movements  toward  Egypt  and 
Assyria,  7:11,  reveal  the  uneasiness  and  insecurity 
and  prepare  the  way  for  the  fall  of  the  nation,  to  which 
it  is  so  rapidly  hastening. 

III.  The  Text 

The  Hebrew  text  of  Hosea  has  not  been  preserved 
as  accurately  as  most  other  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. But  we  may  doubtless  explain  many  of  the 
grammatical  peculiarities  by  the  fact  that  the  language 
was  less  accurately  used  in  the  north  than  in  the  south. 

The  style  is  very  characteristic.  It  is  epigram- 
matic and  abrupt,  and  the  different  members  of  the 
sentence  are  frequently  without  connective  particles. 
Added  to  these  difficulties  there  is  frequent  use  of 
archaic  words,  symbols,  and  other  figurative  forms  of 
expression  which  in  places  make  it  almost  unintel- 
ligible. But,  allowing  all  this,  there  is  a  force  and  a 
musical  cadence  which  make  it  exceedingly  attractive. 
The  rapid  transitions,  the  pathetic  tenderness,  the 
fearless  invective  carry  us  along  with  rapt  attention. 

IV.  Contents 

The  book  presents  a  summary  of  Hosea's  teachings 
rather  than  complete  addresses,  and  is  naturally 
divided  into  two  sections,  one  relating  to  the  reign  of 
Jeroboam  II.,  the  other  to  the  troublous  times  which 
followed. 

I.  First sectio7i.  Chs.  i-j.  After  a  brief  introduc- 
tion, 1:1;  the  prophet  tells  the  pathetic  story  of  his 
marriage  to  Gomer,  "a  wife  of  whoredom,"  1:2;  and 
of  the  birth  of  his  three  children,  1:2-9.    This  marriage 


The  Prophets  97 

was  by  divine  command,  1:2;  as  was  also  the  naming 
of  his  children,  1:6-9.  Ch.  3  tells  how  he  afterward 
took  the  unfaithful  wife  back  to  his  home,  while  the 
second  chapter  tells  how  all  this  action  was  designed 
as  an  object  lesson  to  Israel  whom  Jehovah  had  put 
away  because  of  her  idolatrous  fornications,  but  would 
finally  allure  her  back  to  Himself,  2:14;  and  on  her 
repentance  give  her  the  choicest  blessings,  2:21-23. 

2.  Second sectio7i.  015,4-14.  These  chapters  contain 
a  summary  of  the  prophet's  work  after  the  death  of 
Jeroboam  II.,  made  by  himself  at  the  close  of  his 
ministry.  Although  there  are  no  very  positive  marks 
of  transition,  most  critics  find  three  topics  treated  in 
the  section,  Israel's  sin,  punishment,  and  the  final 
outlook. 

{a)  Israel's  sin.  Chs.  4-8.  There  is  great  moral 
pollution,  Ch.  4;  for  which  the  conduct  of  the  priests 
is  largely  responsible,  Ch.  5,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
rulers.  Against  this  terrible  indictment  the  prophet 
sets  the  picture  of  the  divine  yearning  for  Israel,  Ch. 
6,  but  all  in  vain,  for  the  riot  of  sin  increases,  Ch.  7; 
until  Israel  is  swallowed  up,  8:8;  and  Jehovah  will  no 
longer  accept  her,  8:13. 

{b)  Israel's  punishment.  Chs.  9  to  ii:ii.  Forsaken 
of  God,  9:1;  abandoned  to  vilest  idolatry,  9:3;  the 
sentence  of  banishment  is  pronounced,  9:3.  The  mis- 
ery of  such  a  position  is  graphically  pictured,  9:4ff. 
No  help  will  be  found  in  the  idols  to  which  they  have 
gone,  Ch.  10.  But  even  when  the  blow  falls  God  will 
show  mercy,  and  His  love  will  prevent  their  utter 
destruction,  ii:i-ii. 

{c)  Israel's  future.  Chs.  11:12  to  14:9.  The  shameful 
conduct  of  Israel  in   forsaking  God   is  set  forth,  Ii:i2 


98      Outlines  of  a?i  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

to  13:3,  and  in  beautiful  contrast  the  changeless  love 
of  Jehovah,  13:4-16;  and  the  book  closes  with  a  charm- 
ing picture  of  what  will  be  when  Israel  again  becomes 
faithful  to  God  and  He  restores  to  her  the  fullness  of 
His  love,  Ch.  14. 

V.  Characteristics 

1.  The  question  whether  Chs.  1-3  refer  to  a  real 
marriage,  or  are  a  symbol,  has  been  much  debated. 
The  most  satisfactory  explanation  is  perhaps  that  of 
Robertson  Smith,  who  suggests  that  Hosea  married  a 
woman  who  afterward  became  unfaithful.  When  he 
bewails  his  wretchedness,  God  reveals  to  him  the  fact 
that  his  whole  married  life  is  a  symbol  of  Jehovah's 
marriage  to  Israel,  the  pure  virgin,  who  had  gone 
astray  after  idols  until  He  was  compelled  to  cast  her 
off.  On  her  repentance  He  would  restore  her  to  the 
full  exercise  of  His  love. 

2.  Hosea  deals  very  plainly  with  moral  questions. 
The  great  trouble  with  Israel  is  that  they  have  for- 
saken God,  8:14;  and  His  law,  4:6.  They  feed  on  sin, 
4:8;  and  therefore  the  whole  land  is  defiled.  When 
the  people  think  to  appease  God  by  making  offerings 
of  flesh,  he  tells  them  Jehovah  desires  goodness  and 
the  knowledge  of  God,  6:6.  Israel's  iniquity  has  been 
its  ruin,  and  only  when  that  iniquity  is  pardoned  in 
response  to  their  penitent  prayer  will  they  find  relief, 
14:1. 

3.  Most  conspicuous  of  all  his  teachings  are  those 
which  set  forth  the  inalienable  love  of  God  for  His 
people.  When  Israel  was  a  child  God  loved  him, 
ii:i.  He  taught  Israel  how  to  walk,  holding  him  in 
His  arms,  11:3.     When  Israel,  like  an  adulterous  wife, 


The  Prophets  99 

abandoned  God  He  allured  her  unto  Himself,  2:14; 
grieving  over  her  fall,  11:8.  The  restoration  of  Israel 
furnishes  opportunity  for  the  fullest  and  most  fruitful 
manifestations  of  God's  love  for  His  people,  Ch.  14. 
This  thought  of  God's  love  for  His  people,  even  in 
their  sinful  wanderings,  illuminates  the  entire  book 
and  shows  that  in  those  early  ages  the  true  character 
of  Jehovah  was  understood  by  the  people. 

4.  The  influence  of  Hosea  on  later  writers  is  very 
manifest.  See  Jer.  Chs.  2,  3,  31;  Ezek.  Chs.  16,  23.  In 
the  New  Testament  compare  Hos.  6:6  with  Matt.  9:13, 
127;  Hos.  1 1:1  with  Matt.  2:15;  Hos.  2:23  with  Rom. 
9:25,  26. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries:  Orelli;  G.  A.  Smith,  The  Book  of  the 
Twelve  Prophets ;  Keil  and  Delitzsch;  Pusey.  Heng- 
stenberg's  Christology ;  Robertson  Smith,  The  Prophets 
of  Israel ;  Farrar,  The  Minor  Prophets ;  article  "Hosea" 
in  Bible  Dictio?iaries  of  Smith  and  Hastings;  Introduc- 
tions of  Driver,  Keil,  Bleek;  Stanley,  History  of  the 
Jewish  Church. 

JOEL 

I.  Name 

Joel,  "Jehovah  is  God,"  or  "whose  God  is  Jehovah," 
is  a  common  name  in  Old  Testament  history,  no  less 
than  fourteen  persons  bearing  it.  His  father's  name 
was  Pethuel,  or  as  the  Septuagint  reads  it  Bathouel. 
Beyond  this  all  is  conjecture.  From  the  contents 
some  have  inferred  that  he  belonged  to  the  priesthood 
and  was  an  inhabitant  of  Jerusalem. 


100    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

11.  Date 

The  absence  of  any  recorded  date  and  the  peculiar 
contents  render  the  date  exceedingly  uncertain. 
Different  critics  have  reached  widely  different  con- 
clusions. Keil  gives  877-847  B.  C.  Bleek  puts  him 
about  800  B.  C,  making  him  one  of  the  earliest  of  the 
prophets    whose    writings     have    come    down    to    us. 

Driver  rather  undecidedly  refers  the  book  to  "a  date 
after  the  captivity."  George  Adam  Smith  says  after 
444  B.  C.  All  agree  that  he  must  be  placed  either  at 
a  very  early  or  a  very  late  date. 

The  arguments  for  an  early  date  are: 

(i)  The  position  of  the  book  among  the  Minor 
Prophets  and  its  literary  peculiarities. 

(2)  No  historical  allusions  are  made  to  the  Syrians, 
Assyrians,  or  Chaldeans,  as  we  find  in  the  prophets 
from  Amos  to  the  exile,  while  he  does  mention  Tyre, 
3:4;  Egypt,  and  Edom,  3:19,  who  were  early  enemies 
of  Israel. 

(3)  No  mention  is  made  of  Judah  as  distinct  from 
Israel. 

(4)  The  fact  that  the  government  is  in  the  hands  of 
elders,  1:14,  instead  of  a  king  seems  to  point  to  the 
time  when  Jehoash  was  a  minor  and  the  government 
was  conducted  by  Jehoiada,  a  priest,  2  Kings  12:1-3. 

(5)  Many  resemblances  are  traced  between  Joel  and 
Amos,  Joel  1:4  and  2:25  with  Amos  4:6-9;  and  also 
between  Joel  and  other  prophets,  Joel  1:15  and  Isaiah 
13:6,  9  and  Ezek.  30:2,  which  seem  to  show  that  they 
quoted  from  Joel  rather  than  Joel  from  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  allusions  which 
are  thought  to  point  to  a  later  date.  The  mention  of 
Greeks,  3:6;  the  failure  to  distinguish  between  Judah 


The  Prophets  lOl 

and  Israel;  the  scattering  of  the  people  and  the  parti- 
tion of  the  land  among  the  enemies  of  Israel,  3:2; 
and  the  great  devotion  to  the  temple  service,  1:9,  13; 
2:14,  are  regarded  as  implying  a  post-exilic  time. 

But  these  points  can  be  explained  so  as  to  admit  an 
early  origin  more  readily  than  can  those  which  favor 
an  early  origin  be  made  to  agree  with  a  late  date,  and 
we  would  therefore  accept  the  former,  making  Joel 
one  of  the  first  of  the  prophets  whose  writings  have 
come  down  to  us. 

III.  Analysis 

The  prophecy  consists  of  two  parts: 

1.  First  sectiofi.  Chs.  i :i  to  2 :ij.  After  introducing 
himself,  1:1,  the  prophet  gives  a  picture  of  a  fearful 
judgment  which  had  befallen  the  people  in  the  swarms 
of  locusts  which  had  devoured  all  vegetation  and  the 
drought  which  now  threatened  all  animal  life,  1:2-20. 
The  picture  of  desolation  is  most  graphically  drawn, 
and  the  suffering  and  ruin  are  vividly  and  pathetically 
delineated. 

A  second  picture  follows.  An  invading  army 
sweeps  down  from  the  north,  2:2ff,  changing  the  land 
from  a  garden  to  a  desolate  wilderness,  2:3.  Jehovah 
himself  is  marching  at  the  head  of  this  army,  2:11. 
This  is  followed  by  an  urgent  call  to  repentance  and 
prayer  that  Jehovah  will  avert  the  ruin  before  which 
the  people  are  utterly  helpless,  2:12-17. 

2.  Second  section.  Chs.  2:18  to  j  :2i.  In  response  to 
the  call  for  humiliation  and  prayer  Jehovah  promises 
blessings  in  which  not  only  the  people  shall  find 
relief,  but  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the  very  earth 
itself  will  rejoice,  2:18-27.     Better  still,  there  will  be  a 


102    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

remarkable  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit  in  which  all 
classes  shall  have  a  share,  and  salvation  will  be 
secured  by  every  one  who  calls  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  2:28-32.  This  will  usher  in  "the  day  of  Jeho- 
vah," when  hostile  nations  will  meet  a  fearful,  well- 
deserved  doom  in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  3:2, 
while  Judah  shall  abide  forever  and  Jerusalem  from 
generation  to  generation,  3:20,  21. 

IV.   Peculiarities 

1.  Style.  The  narrative  is  bold  and  picturesque. 
The  details  are  given  in  rapid  outline  which  is  con- 
stantly changing.  The  Hebrew  is  simple  and  the 
words  well  chosen.  In  the  very  sound  and  movement 
of  the  words  v\^e  are  reminded  of  the  noise  and  onrush 
of  the  locusts,  1:10.  Bleek  says,  "In  a  literary  and 
poetical  point  of  view  Joel's  prophecy  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  productions  of  Hebrew  literature;  in 
florid  and  vivid  description  it  is  surpassed  by  none." 
(Int.  to  0.  r.,  II.,  p.  136.) 

2.  The  proper  interpretation  of  the  word  locusts  has 
been  much  discussed.  The  early  fathers  and  many 
moderns,  as  Hengstenberg,  Pusey,  understand  it  figur- 
atively, symbolizing  the  assault  of  the  future  great 
world-powers  on  the  church.  A  second  interpretation 
regards  the  passage  as  apocalyptic,  like  the  living 
creatures  of  Ezekiel  and  Daniel  and  the  strange  figures 
of  the  Book  of  Revelation.  A  third  and  more  natural 
interpretation  is  that  they  are  real  locusts,  such  as 
sometimes  swarm  over  those  lands,  whose  desolating 
march  is  suggestive  to  the  prophet  of  still  more  fear- 
ful scourges  which  will  come  unless  the  people  repent 
and  return  to  God. 


The  Prophets  103 

3.  Joel  uses  some  expressions  which  have  attained 
great  prominence.  "The  day  of  Jehovah,"  1:15;  2:1, 
II,  is  to  be  carefully  noted.  He  represents  it  as  at 
hand,  1:15;  2:1;  as  great  and  very  terrible,  2:11,  3:14  ff; 
it  is  not  simply  a  day  of  judgment  for  the  ungodly,  but 
the  day  of  fuller  spiritual  manifestations  to  His 
people.  The  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  2:28-32,  fur- 
nishes one  of  the  most  positive  statements  concerning 
the  New  Testament  times  to  be  found  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Applied  by  Peter  to  the  marvels  of 
Pentecost,  Acts  2:i4ff. ,  it  finds  ever  new  and  wonder- 
ful confirmations  in  the  renewing  and  upbuilding  of 
souls  in  every  land  and  age  where  the  Gospel  has  been 
preached. 

4.  The  prophecy  of  Joel  has  become  a  fountain  from 
which  many  later  Scripture  writers  have  drawn  with 
great  freeness.  "The  day  of  Jehovah"  of  Joel  finds 
an  echo  in  Isa.  31:9;  Ezek.  32:7,  8;  Amos  8:9,  and  in 
many  places  in  the  New  Testament.  The  fountain 
watering  the  dry  places,  3:18;  is  taken  up  in  Ezek,  47:1; 
Zech.  13:1;  14:8.  The  great  promise  concerning  the 
Spirit,  2:28,  reappears  in  Isa.  44:3;  Ezek.  39:29;  Zech. 
12:10.  From  these  and  other  illustrations  we  may 
learn  how  widely  these  writings  must  have  circulated 
and  how  carefully  they  were  studied  by  those  who 
were  watching  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99. 

AMOS 
I.  Name 
Amos,   "Burden-bearer,"    had   his   home   in  Tekoa, 
twelve  miles  south  of  Jerusalem.      In  1:1  he  calls   him- 
self a  "herdsman,"  and  in  7:14  he  adds,  "and  a  dresser 


104    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

of  sycomore  -  trees."  The  Hebrew  term  rendered 
herdsman  means  a  keeper  of  a  special  breed  of  sheep 
valuable  for  their  wool,  2  Kings  3:4.  Negatively  he 
tells  us  that  he  did  not  belong  to  the  prophetic  order, 
7:14.  While  attending  to  his  calling  Jehovah  sum- 
mons him,  7:15,  to  go  to  the  northern  kingdom  and 
declare  the  divine  message.  He  seems  to  have  gone 
directly  to  Bethel,  the  capital  of  that  kingdom,  4:4, 
and  there  boldly  declared  the  coming  judgment. 
Amaziah,  the  priest  at  Bethel,  told  the  king  what  the 
prophet  was  saying  and  accused  him  of  treason,  7:10. 
Having  uttered  his  message,  he  returns  to  Tekoa,  where 
he  wrote  his  book,  closing  it  with  the  sublime  vision 
of  a  restored  tabernacle  and  a  reunited  people,  9:11-15. 

n.  Authorship,  Style  and  Date 

There  is  no  question  as  to  authorship,  although  a 
few  verses  have  by  some  been  regarded  as  later  addi- 
tions, for  reasons  which  are  not  very  convincing. 

The  Style.  Jerome's  well-known  dictum,  '' Imperittis 
sermone  sed  non  scientia''  (Rude  in  speech  but  not  in 
knowledge),  has  given  way  to  a  juster  estimate  which 
places  him  among  the  foremost  of  the  Old  Testament 
writers.  His  thought  is  clearly  conceived  and  ex- 
pressed with  great  vividness  and  artistic  beauty. 
Drawing  his  illustrations  largely  from  nature,  with 
which  his  occupation  brought  him  into  such  close 
relation,  he  displays  great  familiarity  and  a  keen 
discernment  of  the  objects  with  which  he  enlivens  his 
discourse.  At  times  there  is  a  great  perfection  of 
poetical  expression,  as  in  his  judgment  on  the 
nations.  The  realism  and  the  intense  moral  earnest- 
ness of  the  man  are  everywhere  apparent,  while  his 


TJie  Prophets  105 

grasp  of  the  meaning  of  what  he  saw  and  of  the  pur- 
poses of  God,  place  him  among  the  most  important  of 
the  prophets. 

The  Date.  All  agree  that  his  prophecy  was  uttered 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  750  B.C.  This 
is  indicated  by  the  title,  1:1,  as  well  as  by  the  general 
tenor  of  the  contents  which  agree  perfectly  with  the 
conditions  then  existing  in  the  kingdom  to  which  he 
was  sent.  He  is  thus  placed  among  the  first  of  the 
prophets.  Whether  his  prophecy  in  Israel  actually 
preceded  that  of  Joel  in  Judah  is  an  open  question 
which  eminent  critics  have  decided  some  for  the  ear- 
lier, some  for  the  later  date. 

III.  Contents 

The  book  has  three  clearly-marked  divisions: 

1.  The  great  acaisatio?i.  Chs.  /,  2.  After  a  brief 
introduction,  i:i,  2,  in  which  he  identifies  himself  and 
magnifies  Jehovah's  power  as  giving  importance  to 
what  he  has  to  say,  he  arraigns  the  nations  surround- 
ing Israel, — Damascus,  1:3-5;  Gaza,  1:6-8;  Tyre,  1:9,  10; 
Edom,  i:ii,  12;  Ammon,  1:13-15;  Moab,  2:1-3;  Judah, 
2:4,  5, — and  then  concludes  with  Israel  herself,  2:6-16. 
Both  the  growing  intensity  and  the  detail  with  which 
the  sin  is  described  as  he  mentions  Israel,  to  whom 
especially  God  has  sent  him,  give  a  startling  force  to 
his  message. 

2.  Israel's  sin  and  ptinishment.  Chs.  j-6.  In  this 
section  the  sin  of  Israel  is  set  forth  in  detail  and  the 
certainty  of  punishment  emphasized.  Three  addresses 
are  indicated  by  an  introductory  formula,  3:1;  4:1;  5:1, 
followed  by  two  beginning  with  the  word  "woe,"  5:18 
and  6:1.     Each  address  leads  up  to  a  declaration  of 


io6    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

coming  judgment,  3:15;  4:12;  5:16,  17;  5:27;  6:14; 
each  judgment  being  more  severe  than  the  one  before  it. 

3.  Visions.  Chs.  y-g.  By  a  series  of  visions,  with 
brief  statements  as  to  his  treatment  when  delivering 
his  message  and  some  account  of  his  final  words,  the 
prophet  concludes  his  work  in  Israel.  There  are  five 
of  these  visions,  the  first  two  are  tokens  of  disaster, 
locusts,  7:1-3,  and  fire,  7:4-6,  where  the  judgment  is 
stayed  on  account  of  the  intercession  of  the  prophet; 
the  third,  Jehovah  standing  with  a  plumb-line  in  His 
hand,  7:7-9,  so  enrages  Amaziah,  the  priest  at  Bethel, 
that  he  accuses  Amos  of  treason  against  the  king  and 
orders  him  to  leave  the  kingdom;  the  fourth,  a  basket 
of  summer  fruit,  8:1-14,  prepares  the  way  for  a  message 
that  the  end  of  the  kingdom  is  near;  the  fifth  presents 
Jehovah  standing  beside  the  altar,  9:1,  ready  to  smite 
it  into  fragments,  as  if  ready  to  break  His  covenant 
and  disown  His  people. 

With  9:8  light  breaks  through  the  fearful  darkness, 
and  the  prophet  tells  how  the  sifting  of  Israel  by  such 
severe  judgments  will  reveal  a  faithful  element  unto 
whom  mercy  will  be  shown;  and  the  book  closes, 
9:11-15,  with  a  beautiful  picture  of  the  future  Israel, 
purified  and  reunited,  rejoicing  in  the  overflowing 
abundance  of  the  divine  mercy. 

IV.  Characteristic  Teachings 

The  prophet's  conception  of  Jehovah  and  His  char- 
acter is  remarkably  clear  and  comprehensive, — His 
power,  1:2;  His  law,  2:4;  His  keen  regard  for  right- 
eousness, 5:12;  His  holiness,  4:2;  His  judgment  on  the 
ungodly,  8:4-14;  His  nearness  to  and  care  for  His 
faithful  ones,  9:8,  9.     Equally  clear  is  it  that  the  rela- 


The  Prophets  107 

tion  of  Israel  to  God  is  a  moral  one,  and  that  the 
essential  sin  of  Israel  consists  in  their  disregard  for 
God,  out  of  which  have  come  their  sensuality  and 
injustice  and  idolatry.  The  special  conception 
embodied  in  the  words,  "The  day  of  Jehovah,"  5:i8ff., 
is  fully  developed,  and  his  picture  of  Messianic  times, 
9:11-15,  embodies  the  substance  of  previous  utterances 
and  exhibits  them  in  a  very  attractive  form. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99.  Also  Mitchell's 
Amos. 

OBADIAH 

I.  Name 

The  name,  Obadiah,  "Servant  or  Worshipper  of 
Jehovah,"  is  frequently  found  in  the  Old  Testament, 
no  less  than  thirteen  persons  bearing  it,  ranging  all 
the  way  from  a  prince  of  the  royal  house,  2  Chron. 
17:7,  to  an  overseer  of  workmen,  2  Chron.  34:12;  but 
of  the  personal  history  of  this  Obadiah  we  know 
nothing. 

II.  Date 

As  the  book  gives  no  clue  to  its  origin,  beyond  the 
name  of  the  author,  we  are  thrown  upon  a  study  of  the 
contents  to  determine  its  date.  Two  widely  differ- 
ent opinions  are  held. 

By  some  Obadiah  is  regarded  as  the  oldest  of  the 
prophets  whose  writings  have  come  down  to  us. 
Keil,  Orelli,  and  Delitzsch  agree  upon  889-884  B.  C. 
The  position  of  the  book  among  the  prophets  of  the 
Assyrian  period  would  indicate  this.  But  the  special 
argument  is  the  historical  reference  in  verses  10-14. 
The  capture  of  Jerusalem  and  the  captivity  of  the 
people  there  referred  to  are  assigned  to  the   invasion 


io8    Outlines  ofa?i  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

in  the  time  of  Jehoram,  2  Chron.  2i:i6,  17,  of  which 
Joel  3:19  and  Amos  1:6  speak. 

Others  place  the  prophecy  among  the  latest  in  the 
Old  Testament.  Hastings,  Die.  of  the  Bible,  favoring 
432  B.  C.  and  perhaps  later  still,  and  Hitzig  giving 
312  B.  C.  George  A.  Smith  and  Driver  decide  on  a 
time  shortly  after  the  Babylonian  captivity,  586  B.  C. 
These  all  claim  that  the  words  of  verses  10,  20  must 
refer  to  the  conquest  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 

Another  fact  bearing  on  the  date  is  the  similarity 
between  Obadiah  and  Jeremiah.  Obad.  1-9  and  Jer. 
49:7-22  have  so  much  in  common  that  they  must  have 
some  relation.  The  question  is,  did  Obadiah  quote 
Jeremiah  or  Jeremiah  quote  Obadiah,  or  did  both 
quote  from  some  older  document?  The  latter  sugges- 
tion may  be  dismissed  as  altogether  improbable.  The 
question  lies  between  Obadiah  and  Jeremiah.  Oba- 
diah presents  the  narrative  in  a  simple  form;  Jeremiah 
adds  to  it  elements  suited  to  the  use  he  would  make 
of  it.  Jeremiah  was,  we  know,  fond  of  such  quota- 
tions. Jer.  48:29  and  Isa.  16:6;  Jer.  49:1-6  and  Amos 
1:13-15.  As  the  simple  and  more  compact  narrative  is 
more  likely  to  be  the  older  Vv^e  think  the  priority  must 
be  given  to  Obadiah. 

III.   Unity 

Those  who  advocate  a  late  origin  of  the  prophecy 
find  evidence  of  a  composite  authorship  which  they 
use  to  strengthen  their  position.  Verses  1-9  they 
assign  to  an  unknown  but  very  early  author;  the  rest 
they  regard  as  post-exilic.  They  find  a  decided  con- 
trast between  the  style  of  the  two  parts,  the  first  being 
animated   and   terse,    the   second    diffuse    and    trite. 


The  Prophets  109 

Many  find  this  contrast  between  the  two  parts  and  de- 
cide for  a  dual  authorship,  but  make  both  post-exilic. 
But  there  is  not  sufificient  evidence  for  such  a  divi- 
sion of  the  contents  of  the  book.  It  is  homogeneous, 
and  the  sequence  of  thought  is  very  apparent.  The 
clear  discernment  of  judgment  about  to  fall  on  guilty 
Edom  is  justified  by  stating  the  reason  for  it,  and  then, 
after  the  manner  of  the  prophets,  when  the  judgment 
is  executed,  the  abiding  love  of  Jehovah  for  His 
people  and  the  blessings  they  will  enjoy  under  His 
fostering  care  are  set  forth.  The  argument  drawn 
from  the  style  is  exceedingly  precarious;  so  short  a 
passage  affording  no  real  basis  for  critical  compari- 
son. The  different  shades  of  thought  in  different 
parts  of  the  prophecy  abundantly  justify  the  difference 
in  the  style. 

IV.    Contents 

The  prophecy  is  directed  against  Edom,  1:1.  Three 
points  are  treated: 

1.  The  iinpendiiig  overthrow  of  Edom.  Vers.  i-g. 
The  nations  are  aroused  against  Edom,  i,  2;  and  her 
pride  and  strong  defenses  cannot  save  her,  3,  4. 
Complete  ruin  will  come,  5,  6;  even  her  former 
friends  will  betray  her,  7;  and  her  wise  men  will 
utterly  fail  to  deliver  her,  8,  9. 

2.  The  reason  for  such  an  overthroiv.  Vers.  10-14. 
Edom  has  grossly  insulted  and  injured  Judah  in  the 
day  of  her  affliction,  eagerly  joining  those  who  were 
plundering  her,  10,  11.  From  such  unbrotherly  con- 
duct the  prophet  urges  her  to  desist,  12-14. 

3.  The  outlook  for  Israel.  Vers.  i§-2i.  The  day  of 
Jehovah  draws  near  when  Edom  will  be  treated  as  she 


no    Otitli?ies  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

has  treated  others,  15,  16;  and  when  Judah  united  to 
Israel,  will  become  a  consuming  fire  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  Edom,  17,  18.  In  that  day  God's  people  will 
go  forth  from  Zion  to  possess  the  land  and  the  king- 
dom shall  be  Jehovah's,  21. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99. 

JONAH 

I.  Name 
Jonah,  "Dove,"  was  the  son  of  Amittai  of  Gath- 
Hepher,  in  the  tribe  of  Zebulun.  In  2  Kings  14:25 
we  find  the  same  name,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  both  refer  to  the  same  person.  The  statement  in 
Kings  locates  him  in  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II., 
783-743  B.  C,  probably  in  the  early  part  of  that  reign, 
while  the  book  now  before  us  belongs  to  the  latter 
part  of  it  when  Jonah  was  an  old  man. 

II.  Contents 
The   book    contains   an   account  of    the   mission  of 
Jonah  to  Nineveh. 

1.  The  first  call.  Chs.  i  and  2.  Jehovah  commands 
Jonah  to  go  to  Nineveh  and  cry  against  it  on  account 
of  its  wickedness,  1:2.  Instead  of  obeying,  Jonah 
takes  a  ship  for  Tarshish,  a  place  in  the  opposite 
direction,  1 13.  A  violent  storm  arising,  Jonah  is  thrown 
into  the  sea,  1:15;  and  is  swallowed  by  a  great  fish, 
1:17;  where  he  remains  for  three  days,  composing  a 
prayer  expressed  in  poetical  form,  2:1-9;  after  which 
he  is  restored  to  the  dry  land,  2:10. 

2.  The  seco?id  command  to  go.  Chs.  j  a?id  4.  Jeho- 
vah gives  a  second  command  to  Jonah  to  go  to  Nine- 
veh, 3:1,  to  which  the  prophet  immediately  responds, 


TJie  Prophets  1 1 1 

and  at  his  preaching  there  is  a  great  repentance,  3:5-9, 
so  that  the  threatened  destruction  is  averted,  3:10. 
This  displeased  Jonah,  4:1-3,  whereupon  Jehovah 
teaches  him  a  lesson  of  compassion  by  means  of  a 
gourd,  4:6-11. 

III.  Authorship 

The  important  question  is,  Did  Jonah  himself  write 
the  book  or  is  it  a  book  about  Jonah  written  by  some 
one  else? 

The  common  opinion  is  that  Jonah  himself  wrote  it 
and  that  it  is  an  episode  in  the  prophet's  own  life. 

In  favor  of  this  we  note: 

1.  Its  place  among  the  Minor  Prophets  who  are  gen- 
erally understood  to  have  recorded  their  own  utter- 
ances. It  has  the  same  authentication  as  many  other 
prophetical  books,  Joel  1:1;  Hag.  1:1;  Micah  1:1. 

2.  The  reference  to  it  in  Tobit  14:4  assumes  that  it 
is  historical. 

3.  All  the  details  of  the  narrative  lead  us  to  regard 
it  as  a  personal  record.  The  fact  that  some  of  it  is 
written  in  the  third  person  has  many  parallels  in  the 
Biblical  narratives,  as  Daniel,  Ezra. 

4.  The  tone  of  the  book,  teaching  so  plainly  the 
willingness  of  God  to  regard  the  cry  of  the  heathen,  is 
more  in  harmony  with  Jonah's  time  than  with  the  later 
post-exilic  period  to  which  some  would  assign  it. 

5.  The  use  made  of  it  by  Christ,  Matt.  12:39-41; 
16:4;  Luke  11:29-32,  demands  a  historical  basis. 

Against  this  position  many  modern  critics  have 
taken  a  decided  stand.  Driver  places  it  in  the  fifth 
century,  and  others  still  later.  The  following  are  the 
reasons  given: 


112     Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

1.  The  book  is  a  narrative  rather  than  a  prophecy. 
But  other  prophets  have  written  narratives,  why  not 
Jonah? 

2.  The  language  indicates  a  late  origin.  But  Driver 
says,  "Some  of  the  linguistic  features  might  (possibly) 
be  compatible  with  a  pre-exilic  origin  in  northern 
Israel."  (Int.  to  0.  7".,  p.  322.)  The  idiom  and  vocab- 
ulary are  regarded  as  those  of  the  latest  period  of  Old 
Testament  Hebrew.  We  reply  that  the  language 
agrees  well  with  that  used  in  the  northern  kingdom, 
to  which  Jonah  belonged,  at  the  time  when  he  lived. 

3.  The  reference  to  Nineveh,  3:3,  is  thought  to 
imply  that  when  the  book  was  written  the  city  had 
long  since  passed  away  But  in  a  historical  narrative 
such  an  inference  is  not  necessary.  It  was  a  great  city 
when  Jonah  went  there. 

4.  The  miraculous  element  has  been  urged  strongly 
against  it.  But  if  we  admit  the  possibility  of  miracles 
under  any  conditions,  they  are  no  more  difficult  here 
than  elsewhere. 

5.  The  peculiar  nature  of  his  mission  to  a  foreign 
nation  is  urged  as  out  of  keeping  with  Old  Testament 
prophecy,  and  the  fact  that  history  does  not  confirm 
the  statement  in  regard  to  the  repentance  of  Nineveh 
has  been  used  as  proof  that  it  never  happened.  But 
other  prophets  had  to  deal  with  foreign  nations,  Amos 
I,  Isa.  14,  and  it  was  eminently  fitting  that  the  lesson 
of  God's  mercy  to  the  penitent  should  be  plainly 
stated  as  a  rebuke  to  the  narrowness  of  the  Jews. 
God's  people,  then  as  now,  needed  to  be  taught  their 
responsibility  to  bring  the  message  of  God  to  all  the 
world. 

That  history  does  not  corroborate  the  narrative  is 


The  Prophets  113 

not  strange  when  we  remember  how  little  historical 
confirmation  we  have  to  the  prophetical  teachings  of 
the  Old  Testament.  It  reads  like  the  historical  nar- 
ratives of  Elijah  and  Elisha  in  the  Book  of  Kings,  and 
the  peculiar  opening  words,  "And  it  came  to  pass," 
lead  to  the  suggestion  that  if  it  had  been  inserted 
immediately  after  2  Kings  14:25,  its  fitness  and  natural- 
ness would  have  been  at  once  apparent. 

While  then  the  question  of  authorship  is  an  exceed- 
ingly complicated  one,  we  do  not  find  any  reason  for 
assuming  the  late  origin  of  the  book  sufficient  to  cause 
us  to  abandon  the  old  position  maintained  by  the 
church  that  it  was  written  by  the  prophet  as  a  record 
of  his  own  personal  experience. 

IV.   Its  Interpretation 

1.  Some  have  thought  the  book  a  Hebrew  attempt 
to  teach  ideas  similar  to  the  Greek  stories  of  Hercules 
or  Andromeda,  but  this  needs  no  reply. 

2.  The  symbolic  character  of  the  book  has  been 
maintained.  The  prophets,  it  is  said,  taught  much  in 
this  way,  Jer.  25:15.  Israel  had  a  world  commission 
to  preach  the  forgiving  love  of  God,  but  being  recreant 
to  duty,  was  rejected,  and  when  repentant  becomes 
the  evangelizer  of  the  world,  but  always  fails  to  grasp 
the  fullness  of  the  divine  purpose.  But  the  story 
seems  too  complicated  for  such  a  purpose. 

3.  The  form  is  historical,  and  all  the  incidents  can 
best  be  explained  in  that  way.  It  is  history,  but  his- 
tory told  for  a  purpose.  It  sets  forth  more  than  a 
mere  statement  of  the  fortunes  of  Jonah.  In  the  his- 
tory of  Jonah  the  history  of  one  greater  than  Jonah  is 
typified.     This  the  New  Testament  use  of  it  plainly 


1 1 4    Outlmcs  of  mi  Introductioii  to  the  Old  Testament 

shows,  Matt.  12:39.  It  is  also  designed,  doubtless,  to 
make  plain  the  fact  that  God's  government  embraces 
all  nations  and  that  His  mercy  to  the  penitent  is  not 
limited  to  any  one  people;  a  truth  as  much  needing 
expression  then  as  now. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  p.  99.  Also  Stewart; 
Mitchell,  Exposition  of  the  Book  of  Jonah  ;  Banks,  Jonah 
ill  Fact  and  Fancy;  Kennedy,  On  the  Book  of  Jo?iah; 
Trumbull,  Jonah  in  Nineveh. 


MICAH 

I.  Name 

The  name  is  variously  spelled  in  Hebrew.  In  this 
book  we  have  the  shortened  form,  Micah  i:i.  In  Jer. 
26:18  it  is  written  Micaiah,  and  in  Judges  I7:iff  the 
Hebrew  spelling  is  Micayehu.  It  means,  "Who  is 
like  Jehovah?"  being  an  exact  equivalent  of  the  name 
Michael  found  in  Num.  13:13.  He  is  called  the 
Morashtite,  i:i,  from  his  native  town,  which  cannot 
now  be  clearly  identified,  but  is  supposed  to  have 
been  on  the  border  between  Judah  and  the  Philistine 
territory.  He  is  to  be  distinguished  from  another 
prophet  of  the  same  name,  of  Elijah's  time,  I  Kings 
22:28,  whose  words  are  identical  with  those  of  our 
prophet  in  1:2. 

II.  Date 

The  prophecy  is  dated  "In  the  days  of  Jotham, 
Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah."  i:i.  This  is 
further  confirmed  from  Jer.  26:18.  He  was  therefore  a 
younger  contemporary  of  Isaiah,  720-695  B.  C. 


The   Prophets  115 

III.  Unity 

The  narrative  is  consecutive  though  abrupt  and 
speaks  strongly  for  the  unity  of  authorship.  Some 
exception  has  been  made  to  Chs.  6  and  7,  because  of 
the  more  subdued  tone  of  the  writing  and  the  more 
pronounced  feeling  of  despair  over  the  ever-increasing 
corruption  among  the  people  and  especially  among 
the  rulers.  Ewald  refers  these  chapters  to  the  cor- 
rupt reign  of  Manasseh,  but  the  tendency  in  Hezekiah's 
time,  during  which  Micah  prophesied,  would  amply 
justify  the  increasing  sadness  of  the  prophet's  thought. 
Driver  practically  concedes  the  unity  of  the  book. 

IV.  Style 

Micah's  home  was  in  a  country  town  and  this  fact 
gives  tone  to  his  style.  It  is  at  times  quaintly  poet- 
ical, quite  abrupt  both  in  conception  and  expression 
of  thought,  2:3-5.  Much  in  it  reminds  us  of  Isaiah 
and  Hosea.  Micah  4:1-3  with  Isa.  2:2-4.  Great  con- 
trasts are  presented  and  sometimes  very  peculiar  fig- 
ures are  employed,  3:2,  3.  The  prayer  at  the  close 
of  the  book  reveals  a  spirit  of  trust  in  God  and  a  wide 
conception  of  His  loving  mercy. 

V.  Contents 

The  prophecy  may  be  grouped  under  three  divi- 
sions: 

I.  Threatening.  Chs.  1-3.  Jehovah  is  coming  for 
judgment,  1:3;  and  Samaria  will  suffer  a  fearful  over- 
throw, 6,  7.  Judah,  even  Jerusalem,  will  be  consumed 
in  the  resistless  assault,  8-16.  In  Ch.  2  the  sin  of  the 
people,  especially  of  the  rulers,  is  graphically  described. 


Ii6     Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Tcstamefit 

the  character  of  their  punishment  indicated,  ii;  and 
the  divine  mercy  revealed,  12,  13.  The  shameful 
greed  and  oppression  of  the  poor  by  the  rulers  is 
severely  denounced,  3:1-8;  and  the  prophet  tells  them 
that  they  are  the  cause  of  the  ruin  of  the  nation, 
3:9-12. 

2.  The  restoration.  Chs.  4  and  5.  With  Ch.  4  the 
vision  changes.  Zion  is  no  longer  guilty  and  forsaken, 
trampled  under  foot  by  her  enemies,  but  restored  as  a 
center  of  national  life,  4:1-5,  and  the  object  of  venera- 
tion by  all  men.  Her  foes  shall  be  scattered  by  a 
great  leader  springing  from  Bethlehem,  5:2-5;  under 
whom  Israel  will  dwell  safely,  6-15. 

3.  The  great  controversy.  Chs.  6  and  7.  In  this 
section  the  truth  is  presented  in  a  series  of  personal 
statements.  First,  Jehovah  speaks,  asking  the  people 
why  they  repay  His  kindness  with  such  ingratitude, 
6:1-5.  Then  the  people,  humbled,  ask  how  they  may 
suitably  appear  before  Jehovah,  6,  7.  The  prophet 
replies  that  Jehovah  requires  nothing  but  uprightness, 
8;  and  Jehovah  pronounces  His  condemnation  of  their 
sins,  9-16.  The  prophet  renews  his  assertion  of  their 
inexcusable  and  deliberate  sin  resulting  in  the  utter 
demoralization  of  the  nation,   7:1-6. 

With  y.y  the  scene  again  changes  and  penitent  Israel 
utters  its  lament,  7-10;  to  which  the  prophet  replies  in 
the  assurance  that  their  sin  may  be  forgiven  and  the 
banished  ones  restored  to  the  divine  favor,  although 
there  must  first  come  a  period  of  desolation,  13.  He 
then  pleads  with  Jehovah  for  mercy  and  God  promises 
His  blessing,  14,  15.  The  prophecy  closes  with  a 
declaration  of  the  marvelous  character  of  God  who 
pardons  iniquity  and  performs  His  truth  to  Jacob,  20. 


The   Prophets  117 

VI.    Characteristics 

The  deep  moral  earnestness  of  the  prophet  is  every- 
where apparent.  He  condemns  unsparingly  but  with 
an  evident  desire  to  arouse  the  people  to  repentance. 
The  chief  blame  is  thrown  on  the  leaders  of  the  people 
and  the  necessity  for  practical  righteousness  is  rigidly 
enforced.  God's  mercy  is  for  the  upright  in  heart 
and  life. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  Micah  does  not  speak 
of  God's  judgments  as  resulting  from  their  relations 
with  other  nations,  but  as  the  necessary  result  of  their 
own  internal  corruption.  The  oppression  of  the  poor 
by  the  rich,  the  social  irregularities  of  the  people,  the 
greed  of  those  in  power, — these  bring  the  wrath  of  God. 

Micah  has  very  advanced  ideas  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  when  the  people  shall  be  restored  to  the  divine 
favor,  and  through  obedience  to  God  and  justice  to 
man,  shall  attain  a  glory  which  will  make  them  the 
center  of  spiritual  life  to  all  the  world.  His  declara- 
tion concerning  the  birth  of  the  Messiah  in  Bethlehem 
is  one  of  the  most  notew^orthy  of  the  prophetic  utter- 
ances on  this  subject. 

The  language  of  Micah  is  quoted  in  Matt.  2:5,6,  and 
indirect  reference  is  made  to  it  in  all  the  Gospels. 
Matt.  10:35,  36;  Mark  13:12;  Luke  1:72;  John  7:42. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99. 

NAHUM 
I.   Name 

Nahum,  "Full  of  compassion,"  "Comforter,"  is 
called  the  Elkoshite,  probably  from  the  town  where 
he  lived.     There  has  been   much  discussion   as  to  the 


1 1 8    Outli?tes  of  a?i  hitroductiofi  to  the  Old  Testament 

location  of  this  town.  The  various  conjectures  are,  a 
town  on  the  Tigris,  north  of  Nineveh,  where  his  tomb 
is  shown;  Capernaum  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  because 
that  name  might  mean  Village  of  Nahum;  an 
unknown  place  in  northern  Galilee  and  a  town  in  the 
south  of  Judah.  The  latter  has  most  in  its  favor, 
although  none  of  them  can  be  relied  upon. 

II.  Date 

From  the  contents  the  date  can  be  fixed  within  cer- 
tain limits.  From  3:8-10  we  learn  that  No-Amon, 
the  Egyptian  Thebes,  had  been  destroyed.  This  took 
place  about  664  B.  C.  On  the  other  hand,  Babylonian 
records  show  that  Nineveh  fell  606  B.  C.  The  proph- 
ecy was  doubtless  uttered  in  the  earlier  half  of  this 
period. 

III.    Style 

Nahum  occupies  a  foremost  place  in  Hebrew  liter- 
ature. In  boldness  and  vigor  he  approaches  Isaiah. 
His  description  of  the  onslaught  of  the  army  besieging 
Nineveh,  of  the  wild  confusion  and  helpless  dismay 
of  the  people,  of  the  sw^eeping  desolation  which  marks 
the  overthrow  of  the  city,  have  few  equals  in  literary 
composition.  Lowth,  in  his  Sacred  Poetjy  of  the 
Hebrews,  Lecture  XXL,  says,  "None  of  the  Minor 
Prophets  seem  to  equal  Nahum  in  boldness,  ardor  and 
sublimity.  His  prophecy,  too,  forms  a  regular  and 
perfect  poem;  the  exordium  is  not  merely  magnifi- 
cent, it  is  truly  majestic;  the  preparation  for  the 
destruction  of  Nineveh,  and  the  description  of  its 
downfall  and  desolation,  are  expressed  in  the  most 
vivid  colors,  and  are  bold  and  luminous  in  the  highest 
degree." 


The  Prop] lets  Iig 

IV.  Contents 

The  book  is  entitled  "The  Burden  or  Oracle  of  Nine- 
veh." By  way  of  introduction  he  presents  a  noble 
hymn  descriptive  of  the  character  and  doings  of  Jeho- 
vah, i:2ff.  In  the  second  chapter  the  fall  of  Nineveh 
is  described  in  a  most  realistic  manner.  We  have  the 
siege,  with  a  picture  of  the  advancing  army,  soldiers 
clad  in  scarlet,  chariots  flashing  with  steel,  brandish- 
ing of  spears,  3;  the  streets  drenched  with  blood,  4;  the 
rush  to  defend  the  walls,  5;  the  opening  of  the  water- 
gates,  the  panic  in  the  palace,  the  frantic  efforts  to 
escape,  the  mad  rush  of  the  invaders  to  secure  plun- 
der, 9;  and  the  fear  which  causes  paleness  on  the  faces 
of  the  terrified  inhabitants,  10. 

In  the  third  chapter  the  reason  is  given  for  such  a 
fearful  overthrow.  The  city  is  full  of  lies  and  rapine, 
3:1;  and  whoredoms,  4.  There  will  be  none  to  comfort 
her,  7;  her  people  will  be  as  women,  13;  they  will  van- 
ish like  locusts,  17;  they  will  perish  amid  the  exulting 
shouts  of  those  who  have  suffered  from  her  oppres- 
sion, 19. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99. 

HABAKKUK 

I.   Name 

The  book  itself  says  nothing  as  to  the  author,  nor 
have  we  any  mention  of  him  elsewhere  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. But  Hebrew  tradition  is  as  prolific  as  history  is 
reticent.  It  tells  us  he  was  the  son  of  the  Shunammite 
woman  raised  up  by  Elisha,  2  Kings  4,  and  that  he  was 
transported  by  an  angel  to  Babylon  to  provide  for 
Daniel  when  cast  into  the   lions'   den.     From  a  study 


120    Outlines  of  a?i  hitroductioji  to  the  Old  Testament 

of  his  book  a  few  facts  are  gathered  which  help  us  to 
determine  his  place.  He  is  called  a  Nabi,  Prophet,  a 
term  not  applied  to  anyone  but  a  recognized  divine 
teacher.  His  name  signifies,  "One  who  embraces," 
which  Luther  understands  to  mean,  "One  who  embraces 
his  people,  takes  them  in  his  arms,  comforts  them." 
From  the  closing  words,  3:19,  it  has  been  inferred  that 
he  was  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  and  took  part  in  the  song 
service  of  the  temple. 


n.   Date 

This  must  be  decided  entirely  from  internal  evi- 
dence. The  obscurity  of  the  historical  allusions  has 
given  rise  to  many  suggestions,  ranging  from  the  time 
of  Manasseh  to  that  of  Jehoiakim.  The  more  precise 
date  will  be  determined  by  our  understanding  of  the 
references  in  the  text.  If  the  wrong  complained  of 
by  the  prophet  is  that  committed  by  the  chosen  people 
themselves,  and  the  avengers  are  the  Chaldaeans,  who 
in  turn  will  suffer  for  their  oppressions,  then  the  latter 
part  of  Manasseh's  reign  or  the  beginning  of  that  of 
Josiah  seems  the  proper  date.  And  this  idea  is 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  during  the  reign  of 
Josiah  the  prophets  Jeremiah  and  Zephaniah  told  of 
the  coming  of  the  Chaldaeans,  at  the  bidding  of  God,  to 
punish  his  rebellious  people,  and  both  these  prophets 
allude  to  the  prophecy  of  Habakkuk,  showing  he  must 
have  preceded  them  in  such  a  message.  This  would 
fix  the  time  about  650-625  B.  C.  Budde  assigns  it  to 
626-621  B.  C.  Those  who  wish  to  bring  the  prophet 
and  the  subject  of  his  prophecy  nearer  together  fix  on 
a  period  a  little  before  600  B.  C. 


The  Prophets  121 

III.  Unity  of  the  Book 

The  unity  of  the  book  has  been  questioned  by  some 
who  regard  the  poem,  Ch.  3,  as  a  post-exilic  addition, 
on  account  of  its  likeness  to  the  Psalms  assigned  to 
that  period.  But  it  forms  a  natural  conclusion  to  the 
book  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  ideas  which  demands 
a  later  date  unless  it  be  the  directions  given  for  the 
rendering  of  the  Psalm,  Ch.  3,  in  public  worship,  and 
these  are  in  harmony  with  what  we  know  of  the  mu- 
sical service  of  Josiah's  time.  Besides,  the  Psalms 
might  as  well  have  quoted  from  Habakkuk  as  Habak- 
kuk  from  the  Psalms. 

The  book  is  easily  divided  into  three  sections: 

1.  In  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between  himself  and 
God  the  prophet  asks  why  violence  and  injustice  go 
unpunished,  1:1-4.  God  replies  that  He  has  prepared 
an  instrument  for  the  punishment  of  wrong-doers,  even 
a  "bitter  and  hasty  nation,"  the  Chaldaeans,  whose 
swift  and  terrible  advance  no  one  can  resist  until  they 
have  executed  His  purpose  of  judgment,  5-1 1.  The 
prophet  then  appeals  to  God  to  spare  his  people  in 
the  day  of  such  a  visitation,  and  God  answers  that  the 
proud  oppressor  will  finally  meet  his  just  doom,  while 
he  that  fears  God  will  be  rescued,   1:12  to  2:4. 

2.  In  the  second  chapter  the  prophet  utters  a  parable, 
a  taunting  proverb  against  the  Chaldaean  oppressor, 
which  he  puts  in  the  mouth  of  all  who  have  suffered 
by  his  oppression.  This  parable  consists  of  five  parts, 
the  first  four  of  which  begin  with  the  word  "Woe." 
In  succession  he  denounces  the  rapacity  of  the  Chal- 
daeans, 6-8;  declares  that  their  wrong-doing  will  be 
their  ruin,  9-1 1;  that  their  magnificence,  being  the 
result  of  greed,  will   end   in  vanity,  12-14;    denounces 


122    Outlines  of  a7i  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

their  heartless  cruelty  toward  those  whom  they  have 
conquered,  15-17;  and  scouts  their  trust  in  idols  who 
are  nothing  compared  with  Jehovah  before  whom  all 
the  earth  must  stand  in  awe,    18-20. 

3.  In  the  third  chapter  the  prophecy  rises  into 
poetic  form  in  a  lyric  ode,  which  for  sublime  imagery 
and  elegance  of  expression  has  few  equals  in  Hebrew 
poetry.  The  prophet  prays  that  in  the  midst  of  the 
prevailing  wickedness  and  oppression  Jehovah  will 
remember  mercy.  Then  follows  one  of  the  most 
marvelous  conceptions  of  God  and  His  coming  to 
avenge  His  oppressed  people.  Jehovah  is  seen  march- 
ing forth  from  Teman,  or  Edom,  His  glory  illumina- 
ing  the  heavens,  the  earth  trembling  beneath  Him.  The 
mountains  are  scattered  at  His  approach  and  the  tem- 
pest roars  about  Him.  The  nations  flee  in  terror  but  fail 
to  escape  His  punishment,  2-12.  When  he  seeks  a 
reason  for  such  an  appearance  of  Jehovah  he  is  told  it 
is  for  the  salvation  of  His  people,  His  anointed  ones, 
13-15.  The  poem  ends  with  a  statement  of  the  confi- 
dence produced  in  the  prophet  by  this  revelation  of 
Jehovah.  Though  all  nature  should  perish  he  will 
rejoice  in  Jehovah,  the  God  of  his  salvation,  i6-ig. 

Besides  the  beauty  of  style  and  the  loftiness  of  con- 
ception which  mark  the  book,  there  are  two  thoughts 
which  stand  out  with  great  prominence.  One  is  the 
calm  assurance  of  absolute  justice  in  God.  No  one, 
not  even  the  chosen  people,  can  escape.  Even  though 
the  wicked  rise  to  great  power  it  is  that  they  may 
be  destroyed,  while  he  that  trusts  in  the  Lord  will 
always  be  safe.  The  second  is  embodied  in  the  decla- 
ration, "The  just  shall  live  by  His  faith,  or  in  His 
faithfulness,"   a  truth   which    has   been    used    by   the 


The  Prophets  123 

great  Apostle  as  one  of  the  foundation  stones  of  our 
Christian  life.     Rom.  1:17;  Gal.  3:11. 
For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99. 

ZEPHANIAH 

I.  Name 

Zephaniah,  "One  whom  God  protects,"  or  "Watch- 
man of  Jehovah,"  according  to  i:i  was  a  descendant 
of  Hezekiah,  generally  supposed  to  be  the  king  of  that 
name.  This  fact  probably  accounts  for  his  lengthy 
pedigree.  Beyond  this  we  know  nothing.  Jeremiah 
was  his  companion  prophet. 

II.  Date 

The  date  is  fixed  by  the  words,  "In  the  days  of 
Josiah,"  639-608  B.  C.  From  the  description  of  sins 
prevailing  in  Jerusalem  and  the  prophecy  concerning 
Nineveh,  it  seems  probable  that  he  prophesied  during 
the  early  part  of  Josiah's  reign,  before  621. 

III.  Unity 

The  unity  of  the  book  has  been  assailed  by  some  but 
without  much  reason.  Especially  has  the  latter  part 
of  Chapter  3  been  assigned  to  a  much  later  date,  on 
account  of  its  hopeful  tone  as  contrasted  with  the 
severe  threatenings  of  the  preceding  sections.  But  in 
this  Zephaniah  follows  the  example  of  other  prophets 
and  presents  a  logical  order  of  thought.  The  design 
in  rebuking  sin  is  to  awaken  repentance,  and  repent- 
ance leads  to  a  restoration  of  the  divine  favor,  and  the 
divine  favor  is  the  overflowing  fountain  of  all  blessing. 
This  is  the  line  of  thought  which  pervades  all  prophecy 


124    Ontlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

from  the  beginning,  and  instead  of  these  verses  being 
out  of  place,  they  form  a  fitting  conclusion  by  reveal- 
ing the  mercy  of  God  toward  the  penitent  and  the  uni- 
versal blessing  which  will  fill  the  earth  when  God's 
kingdom  everywhere  prevails. 

IV.  Style  and  Teaching 

The  style  of  Zephaniah  lacks  the  fine  lyrical  tone  of 
Habakkuk  and  is  often  abrupt  in  thought,  but  a  deep 
earnestness  pervades  it  and  the  conception  of  his 
theme  is  broad  and  clear.  He  has  a  strong  hold  of 
the  spiritual  nature  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  of  the 
divine  supervision  of  all  human  affairs,  regulating 
them  and  by  means  of  them  perfecting  his  own  ever- 
lasting kingdom  of  righteousness  and  truth. 

V.  Contents 

The  book  is  a  continuous  composition  in  which  the 
thought  proceeds  in  an  orderly  way  from  beginning  to 
end.  We  may  note  three  stages  in  the  development  of 
the^theme. 

1.  The  Judgment.  Ch.  i.  The  Day  of  Jehovah  is 
near,  a  day  of  universal  and  overwhelming  punishment 
of  transgressors.  It  will  sweep  away  all  the  ungodly, 
especially  those  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  4;  and  will 
reach  all  manner  of  transgression,  luxury,  dishonesty, 
indifference.  No  sinner  can  hope  to  escape  when  that 
day  comes,  18. 

2.  The  Admonition.  Chs.  2:1  to  3:7.  Ruin  stares 
the  nations  in  the  face.  Philistia,  Moab,  Ethiopia, 
Assyria,  Nineveh,  all  will  fall.  Jerusalem  also,  full 
of  godless  sinners,  will  be  overthrown. 

3.  The  Promise.     Ch.  3:8-20.     The  God-fearing  are 


Tlic  Prophets  125 

not  to  be  dismayed  by  all  this  proclamation  of  doom. 
The  depisers  of  God  will  perish  but  the  faithful  will 
find  protection  and  deliverance.  Out  of  their  trials 
they  will  come  with  songs  from  beyond  the  rivers  of 
Ethiopia,  and  God  will  rejoice  over  them  and  save 
them  and  make  them  a  name  and  a  praise  among  all 
the  people  of  the  earth. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99. 

HAGGAI 

I.  Name 
Nothing  is  known  of  Haggai  save  what  can  be 
learned  from  his  book.  His  name  means  Festal,  but 
why  he  bore  it  we  know  not.  From  2:3  it  has  been 
assumed  that  he  was  born  before  the  exile  began;  if 
so,  he  must  have  been  quite  old  when  he  uttered  his 
prophecy.  He  is  mentioned  with  Zechariah  in  Ezra 
5:1  and  6:14  as  one  greatly  instrumental  in  persuading 
the  people  to  rebuild  their  temple.  A  Jewish  legend 
makes  him  a  member  of  the  Great  Synagogue. 
Another  legend,  based  on  1:13,  says  that  he,  as  well  as 
Malachi  and  John  the  Baptist,  were  not  men  but  angels. 
In  the  Septuagint  his  name,  with  that  of  Zechariah,  is 
given  as  the  author  of  Psalms  138,  146-148. 

H.  Genuineness  and  Date 
All  agree  that  Haggai  wrote  the  book  and  that  it 
has  come  down  to  us  as  he  wrote  it.  The  date  is  also 
beyond  question.  The  second  year  of  Darius  fixes  it 
in  520,  sixteen  years  after  the  first  colony  returned 
from  Babylon.  His  prophecy  is  confined  to  a  period 
of  four  months.  He  is  the  first  of  the  post-exilic 
prophets. 


1 26    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

III.   Style  and  Thought 

The  style  is  quite  prosaic,  having  nothing  of  the 
lofty  imaginative  utterance  of  the  prophets  before  the 
captivity.  There  are  many  repetitions,  and  a  very  free 
use  of  the  interrogation  detracts  from  the  effect. 

But  if  he  is  thus  plain  in  manner  he  does  not  lack 
strength  of  thought.  He  sees  that  there  is  a  profound 
relation  between  the  physical  and  the  spiritual  sur- 
roundings, that  poverty  does  not  mean  inability,  and 
especially  that  when  they  work  along  the  line  of  the 
divine  plan  they  may  expect  great  results.  His  con- 
ception of  the  future  Messianic  glory  comes  out  very 
clearly  when  he  speaks  of  the  shaking  of  all  nations 
and  of  their  bringing  their  most  desirable  things  to 
adorn  the  house  of  God,  of  which  the  latter  glory 
would  be  in  splendid  contrast  with  its  present  small 
beginnings,  27. 

IV.  Contents 

The  mission  of  Haggai  was  to  induce  the  returned 
exiles  to  rebuild  their  temple.  The  prophecy  is 
divided  into  four  sections,  the  time  of  each  of  which  is 
carefully  stated. 

1.  On  the  first  day  of  the  sixth  month,  520  B.  C,  he 
reproves  the  people  for  building  such  elegant  houses 
for  themselves  while  the  house  of  God  lies  waste. 
This  neglect  has  brought  poverty  and  drought.  Such 
was  the  effect  of  his  appeal  that  on  the  twenty-fourth 
day  of  the  same  month  work  on  the  temple  was  begun, 
1:1-15. 

2.  On  the  twenty-first  day  of  the  seventh  month  he 
encourages  the  leaders  and  the  people  by  assuring 
those  who  had  seen  the  former  temple  that  the  latter 


Tlic  Prophets  127 

glory  of  this  new  building  would  far  exceed  its  former 
glory;  that  Jehovah  would  shake  all  nations  and  cause 
them  to  bring  their  desirable  things  into  it  and  make  it 
a  fountain  of  peace,  2:1-9. 

3.  On  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  the  ninth  month  he 
teaches,  by  a  parable,  the  cause  of  their  feebleness  and 
promises  anew  that  the  blessing  of  God  will  attend 
their  efforts  to  rebuild  the  temple,  2:10-19. 

4.  On  the  same  day  Haggai  comes  to  Zerubbabel,  the 
governor,  with  the  announcement  that  God  is  about  to 
shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  overthrow  the  king- 
doms with  great  slaughter  and  make  him  a  signet,  an 
object  which  he  would  cherish  with  great  care, 
2:20-23.     (See  Mai.  3:17.) 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99;  also  Perowne: 
Haggai,  Zechariah  and  Malachi  in  Cambridge  Bible  for 
Schools;  and  T.  V.  Moore:  Haggai,  Zechariah  and 
Malachi. 

ZECHARIAH 
I.   Name 

In  the  superscription  he  is  called  Zechariah  the  son 
of  Berechiah,  the  son  of  Iddo,  the  prophet.  We  learn 
from  Neh.  12:16  that  Iddo  was  the  head  of  one  of  the 
priestly  families  who  accompanied  Zerubbabel  and 
Joshua,  leaders  of  the  first  company  who  went  from 
Babylon  to  Jerusalem  in  537  B.  C.  Ezra  5:1  and  6:14 
further  identify  him  with  Haggai  in  appeals  to  secure 
the  rebuilding  of  the  temple.  He  seems  to  have  been 
quite  young  when  he  began  to  prophesy,  2:4.  His 
first  recorded  utterance  is  dated  in  the  eighth  month 
of  the  second  year  of  Darius,  520  B.  C,  only  two 
months    after    Haggai    delivered    his    first    message. 


128    Outlines  of  a?i  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

How  long  his  work  continued  we  have  no  record,  but 
if  the  last  chapters  of  his  book  belong  to  him,  he  must 
have  prophesied  many  years. 

II.  Unity 

All  critics  agree  that  the  first  eight  chapters  were 
written  by  Zechariah.  But  Mede,  an  English  critic 
who  died  in  1638,  on  account  of  Matt.  27:9  ascribing 
Zech.  1 1:12,  13  to  Jeremiah,  argued  that  chapters  9-1 1 
were  written  by  Jeremiah  instead  of  Zechariah.  Some 
later  critics  assign  chapters  12-14  to  an  unknown 
prophet  who  lived  just  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, while  others  claim  they  are  post-exilic.  This  idea 
of  a  dual  authorship  has  been  accepted  by  very  many. 
Their  reasons  for  detaching  these  chapters  are  numer- 
ous and  some  of  them  complicated.  Many  of  these 
reasons  are  so  frivolous  as  not  to  need  any  answer, 
such  as  that  in  the  first  eight  chapters  we  have  visions, 
but  not  in  the  last  six  chapters;  or  that  the  first  sec- 
tion is  carefully  dated  while  the  latter  part  is  not. 
More  reasonable  are  the  following: 

1.  Difference  in  style.  Words  are  used,  it  is 
claimed,  in  different  senses  in  the  two  sections,  the 
idioms  differ,  and  especially  the  first  part  is  very 
prosaic  while  the  latter  is  full  of  force. 

2.  The  general  conception  of  society  and  the  refer- 
ences to  other  nations  in  the  second  section  do  not  fit 
Zechariah's  time. 

3.  The  Messianic  teaching  differs.  In  the  first  part 
the  prevailing  conception  of  the  Messiah  is  that  he  is  a 
priest;   in  the  second  part  he  is  a  king. 

4.  Some  hold  that  the  facts  dwelt  upon  in  the  second 
section  occurred   before  Zechariah's  time  and  there- 


TJic  Prop] lets  I2g 

fore  are  not  a  subject  for  his  prophecy.  Others  hold 
that  they  deal  with  subjects  so  far  in  the  future  that 
Zechariah  could  know  nothing  about  them,  nor  could 
the  people  have  understood  them  if  he  had  mentioned 
them.  Those  who  deny  that  Zechariah  was  the  author 
of  the  second  part  are  very  much  divided  as  to  the 
person  to  whom  they  should  be  assigned.  Some  refer 
chapters  9-1 1  to  one  author  and  chapters  12-14  to 
another,  while  others  refer  them  all  to  one  person. 
Some  claim  that  chapters  9-1 1  were  written  in  the 
time  of  Isaiah,  others  give  them  to  Jeremiah,  while 
others  place  them  later  than  Zechariah.  All  of  the 
objections  grow  out  of  the  difficulty  in  finding  his- 
torical facts  to  fit  the  allusions  of  the  prophecy,  or 
out  of  the  conception  of  prophecy  entertained  by  the 
critic. 

The  argument  in  favor  of  the  unity  of  the  book  may 
be  thus  stated: 

1.  The  fundamental  ideas  of  both  sections  are  the 
same.  The  bold  condemnation  of  the  enemies  of 
God's  people;  the  stern  and  fearless  rebuke  of  sin  in 
Judah  and  Israel;  the  firm  conviction  that  God  rules 
and  therefore  good  will  finally  prevail;  the  hopeful- 
ness which  does  not  fail  in  the  darkest  hour,  but 
enables  him  to  see  that  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah 
will  prevail  among  the  nations;  these  thoughts  pervade 
alike  both  sections  of  the  book. 

2.  It  is  evident  also  that  while  the  outward  form  of 
the  message  differs,  the  general  style  remains  un- 
changed throughout. 

3.  There  is  the  same  tendency  as  is  found  in  other 
later  prophets  to  refer  to  older  prophecies.  Ezekiel, 
Jeremiah,  Isaiah  are  often  quoted  and  their  prominent 


1 30     Outlines  of  a?L  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

sayings   are    introduced    to   emphasize    the    prophet's 
appeal. 

4.  The  first  part  is  without  question  written  by  Zecha- 
riah  in  the  period  following  the  first  return  from  Baby- 
lon, and  there  is  nothing  in  the  circumstances  of  the 
second  part  which  is  inconsistent  with  this  period. 
The  legitimate  field  of  prophecy  embraces  the  future 
as  well  as  the  present,  and  the  contests  and  triumphs 
of  Messiah's  kingdom  might  be  set  forth  by  Zechariah 
as  well  as  by  one  who  lived  earlier  or  later. 

5.  Besides,  it  is  very  difficult  to  understand  why 
those  who  prepared  the  Canon  should  assign  so  many 
separate  productions  to  one  man,  living  so  near  the 
time  of  the  man  who  is  known  to  have  written  a  part 
of  them,  and  that  their  mistake  should  be  accepted 
without  question  by  those  who  had  such  good  oppor- 
tunity of  knowing  all  the  facts  in  the  case. 

For  an  exhaustive  treatment  of  the  argument  in 
favor  of  the  unity  of  the  book,  see  The  American  Jour- 
nal of  Se?mtic  Languages  and  Literatures,  Vol.  XII.,  p.  I. 

These  considerations,  taken  in  connection  with  the 
remarkably  divergent  conclusions  of  those  who  deny 
the  unity  of  the  book,  lead  us  to  decide  that  the 
attempt  to  divide  the  authorship  has  not  been  success- 
ful, and  we  must  continue  to  maintain  that  the  book 
was  all  written  by  Zechariah. 

III.  The  Teaching  of  the  Book 

The  Book  of  Zechariah  has  much  that  is  character- 
istic and  valuable.  Its  strange  visions,  apocalyptic  in 
form,  find  fuller  expression  in  the  great  Apocalypse 
of  the  New  Testament.  Its  teaching  concerning  sin  is 
very  thorough.     Its  pictures  of  the  Messiah  and  of  His 


The  Prophets  131 

kingdom  are  wonderfully  clear  and  comprehensive 
when  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  person  and  work  of 
Christ  as  revealed  in  the  Gospel.  Few  of  the  prophets 
have  been  so  often  recognized  and  their  words  incor- 
porated into  the  New  Testament  as  Zechariah. 

IV.  Contents 

The  book  has  four  main  divisions: 

1.  An  exhortation  to  repentance,  in  which  he  urges 
them  not  to  make  the  mistake  of  their  fathers,  whose 
neglect  of  God's  Word  proved  so  disastrous  to  them, 
i;i-6. 

2.  A  series  of  eight  visions,  seen  in  one  night,  the 
twenty-fourth  day  of  the  eleventh  month  of  the  second 
year  of  Darius.  These  were  accompanied  with  a  sym- 
bolical action  of  the  prophet  in  crowning  Joshua,  the 
High  Priest.  Chs.  1:7  to  6:15.  These  are  designed  to 
encourage  the  Jews  to  go  on  with  the  building  of  their 
temple.     The  visions  are: 

(a)  The  horseman  among  the  myrtle  trees,  1:7-17, 
teaching  that  although  the  earth  seems  quiet,  God  is 
preparing  to  fulfill  His  promise  to  His  people  in 
regard  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple. 

{b)  The  four  horns  broken  by  four  smiths,  1:18-21, 
teaching  that  God  is  about  to  break  the  power  of  the 
enemies  of  His  people. 

{c)  The  man  with  a  measuring-line,  2:1-13,  teaching 
the  great  increase  of  Jerusalem  because  the  nations 
join  themselves  to  her. 

(d)  Joshua,  the  High  Priest,  and  Satan,  3:1-10. 
Joshua  is  accused  by  Satan  but  vindicated  and  receives 
a  promise  in  regard  to  the  coming  Messiah. 

{e)  The  golden  candlestick  and  the  two   olive  trees, 


132    Otitlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

4:1-14,  teaching  that  divine  grace  will  be  given  through 
God's  chosen  channels,  the  priesthood  and  the  civil 
power. 

(/)  The  flying  roll,  5:1-4,  teaching  that  every  sin  is 
recorded  andevery  sinner  found  and  punished. 

{g)  The  woman  cast  into  the  ephah  and  borne  away, 
5:5-11,  teaching  that  God  will  remove  the  iniquity  of 
the  land. 

{Ji)  The  four  chariots  with  different  colored  horses, 
6:1-8.  These  go  all  through  the  earth  to  execute  the 
divine  judgments. 

These  visions  are  followed  by  a  symbolic  act,  6:9-15, 
the  crowning  of  the  High  Priest,  accompanied  by  a 
promise  concerning  the  work  of  the  Branch,  the  Mes- 
siah, who  as  King  and  Priest  will  rule  successfully  and 
gather  all  nations  about  Plim. 

3.  Nearly  three  years  after  the  visions  Zechariah  is 
asked  by  the  people  in  regard  to  the  fast  they  kept  in 
memory  of  the  destruction  of  the  first  temple,  whether 
it  should  be  observed  now  that  they  had  a  new  temple, 
Chs.  7,  8.  The  answer  is  that  God  does  not  require 
such  fasts  but  obedience  to  His  commands.  This  will 
secure  a  future  of  unparalleled  blessings.  The  struc- 
ture of  Chapter  8  is  to  be  noted  with  its  ten  brief  but 
encouraging  messages,  each  beginning  with  "Thus  saith 
Jehovah." 

4.  Chapters  9-14  are  made  up  of  two  prophetic 
utterances,  both  of  which  begin  with  the  special  word 
"burden." 

{a)  Chapters  9-1 1  declare  that  a  judgment  is  about 
to  fall  upon  the  surrounding  nations,  but  the  Messiah 
will  come  to  save  His  own.  The  people  are  urged  to 
forsake  idolatry  and  mercy  is  promised  them.     If  they 


TJic  Prophets  133 

trust  in  the  Lord  they  will  be  regathered  from  their 
wanderings.  When  they  refuse  God's  offer  their  judg- 
ment is  proclaimed,  they  are  abandoned  to  the  care 
of  shepherds  who  oppress  and  slay  them.  By  the 
breaking  of  his  staff,  "Beauty,"  the  prophet  sym- 
bolizes his  estimate  of  their  folly  in  rejecting  the  true 
Shepherd  and  shows  the  hopeless  antagonism  between 
Judah  and  Israel. 

{b)  Chapters  12-14,  the  second  burden,  tell  how  the 
nations  gather  against  Jerusalem,  but  Jehovah  saves 
His  people,  opens  a  fountain  for  purification  of  sin  and 
destroys  idolatry.  Another  assault  is  made  on  Jerusa- 
lem and  the  city  captured,  but  God  cleaves  the  Mount 
of  Olives  to  make  a  way  of  escape  for  His  people. 
The  Messiah  appears,  streams  of  salvation  flow  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  the  nations  join  themselves  to  God 
and  His  people,  and  holiness  everywhere  prevails. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99,  also  Moore: 
Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi;  Perowne:  Haggai, 
Zechariah  and  Malachi  in  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools ; 
Alexander,  Zechariah,  His  Visions  and  ]/Var?ii?igs ;  Geo. 
L.  Robinson,  "The  Prophecies  of  Zechariah  with  Spe- 
cial Reference  to  the  Origin  and  Date  of  Chapters 
IX-XIV,"  printed  in  The  A7nerican  Journal  of  Semitic 
Languages  and  Literatures  yNo\,  XH.,  p.  i. 

MALACHI 
L  Name 

Malachi,  "My  messenger,"  or  "Messenger  of  Jeho- 
vah." The  book  throws  no  light  on  the  question  of 
authorship,  beyond  the  mere  name  given  in  i:i. 
Some,  as  Geo.  A.  Smith,  finding  the  same  word  in  3:1, 


134    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

have  concluded  that  we  do  not  have  even  the  name  of 
the  prophet,  and  Jewish  tradition  has  the  singular 
notion  that  he  was  not  a  man  but  an  angel.  Other 
Jewish  traditions  are  that  the  real  author  was  Ezra,  or 
Mordecai,  or  Nehemiah,  or  Zerubbabel.  It  is  much 
better  to  regard  Malachi  as  the  proper  name  of  the 
author  of  the  book. 

II.  Date 
From  internal  evidence  we  learn  that  it  was  written 
after  the  captivity,  but  not  until  after  the  temple  had 
been  rebuilt  and  the  sacrifices  reestablished,  i:6  to  2:9. 
The  people  are  represented  as  having  fallen  into  the 
habit  of  contracting  foreign  marriages,  2:10-16;  and 
an  irreligious  and  skeptical  spirit  pervades  all  classes, 
2:17  to  3:6.  In  civil  life  they  were  under  a  governor, 
1:8,  and  constituted  a  province  of  the  Persian  empire. 
These  facts  point  to  the  time  of  Nehemiah 's  second 
term  as  governor,  430-425  B.  C.  Malachi  would  then 
stand  related  to  Nehemiah  much  in  the  same  relation 
as  Zechariah  stood  to  Ezra. 

III.  Style 
The  method  pursued  by  the  writer  is  peculiar.  He 
first  presents  an  accusation  charging  the  people  with 
some  neglect  of  duty,  then  assumes  that  an  objection 
is  made  to  his  charge,  and  concludes  by  answering  the 
objection.  In  this  way  he  drives  the  truth  home  with 
great  power.  It  is  written  in  good  Hebrew  but  has 
many  characteristics  of  the  period.  His  matter  of 
fact  way  of  arguing  prevents  any  elaboration  of  style, 
but  when  he  dwells  upon  the  Messianic  future  he  pre- 
sents much  that  is  original  in  conception  and  expres- 
sion. 


The  Prophets  135 

IV.  Teaching 

In  his  treatment  of  the  future  he  reveals  the  true 
prophetic  spirit.  He  finds  genuine  worship  of  God 
among  all  nations,  i:ii.  The  quenchless  love  of  God 
for  His  people  is  graphically  pictured,  1:2.  The 
reality  of  repentance  is  tested  by  the  life  which  fol- 
lows, 2:13.  He  beholds  the  dawning  of  the  sun  of 
righteousness,  and  sees  in  it  the  only  hope  of  deliver- 
ance, 4:2.  Very  graphic  also  is  his  apocalyptic  vision 
of  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  To  the  wicked  it  will  be 
like  a  fire  sweeping  through  a  forest  leaving  neither 
root  nor  branch,  while  to  the  righteous  it  will  be  as 
the  morning  dawn  which  ushers  in  the  perfect  day  of 
salvation.  But  before  that  day  Elijah  the  prophet  will 
come  to  prepare  the  way  by  preaching  repentance,  4:5. 

V.  Contents 

The  aim  of  the  writer  is  to  show  the  people  that 
their  weakened  religious  life  is  the  cause  of  their  moral 
and  social  troubles. 

The  book  contains  seven  paragraphs: 

1.  Ch.  1:1-5.  God's  love  for  Israel  is  shown  in  the 
contrast  between  their  condition  and  that  of  Edom. 

2.  Chs.  1:6  to  2:9.  In  consequence  of  Israel's  fail- 
ure to  respond  to  the  divine  love,  seen  preeminently  in 
the  disgraceful  conduct  of  the  priests,  Jehovah  will 
send  a  curse  on  the  nation. 

3.  Ch.  2:10-16.  The  sin  of  heathen  marriages  is 
denounced. 

4.  Chs.  2:17  to  3:6.  The  prevailing  skepticism  is 
exposed  and  the  declaration  is  made  that  Jehovah  will 
come  suddenly  to  purge  the  priesthood  and  become  a 
swift  witness  against  transgressors. 


136    Ontlincs  of  a?i  bitrodtictioii  to  the  Old  Testament 

5.  Ch.  37-12.  The  people  withholding  tithes,  God 
sends  drought,  and  the  assurance  is  given  that  if  the 
people  remember  their  obligations  to  God  He  will  pour 
out  rich  blessings  upon  them. 

6.  Chs.  3:13  to  4:3.  To  the  complaint  of  the  people 
that  it  is  idle  to  serve  God,  the  prophet  responds  that 
Jehovah  will  come  and  make  a  distinction  between 
those  who  serve  God  and  those  who  do  not. 

7.  Ch.  4:4-6.  He  then  urges  to  a  faithful  compli- 
ance with  the  law  of  Moses  and  promises  that  Elijah 
will  come  to  prepare  the  way  for  Jehovah's  appearance. 

For  Literature,  see  Hosea,  page  99,  and  Zechariah, 
page  133. 


THE  KETHUBIM  OR  WRITINGS 

The  third  section  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  is  made  up  of 
a  miscellaneous  collection  of  books  consisting  of 
Poetry,  Philosophy,  Prophecy  and  History.  That  a 
book  was  placed  in  this  section  does  not  mean  that  it 
was  written  after  the  other  parts  were  collected  or  was 
of  less  importance,  but  that  it  was  of  a  special  char- 
acter. 

I.  Classification  of  Its  Books 

The  books  of  this  section  are  classified  as  follows: 

1.  Three  poetical:  Psalms,  Proverbs  and  Job,  which 
were  called  "Emeth,"  a  word  formed  by  taking  the 
first  letter  of  the  Hebrew  title  of  each  book.  These 
are  especially  marked  by  a  peculiar  system  of  accents 
in  the  Hebrew  text. 

2.  Five  Megilloth  (Rolls):  Song  of  Solomon,  Ruth, 
Lamentations,  Ecclesiastes  and  Esther,  which  were 
read  on  the  great  feast  days  as  follows:  Song  of  Solo- 
mon on  the  Feast  of  the  Passover,  Ruth  on  the  Feast 
of  Pentecost,  Lamentations  on  the  Feast  of  the  De- 
struction of  the  Temple,  Ecclesiastes  on  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  Esther  on  the  Feast  of  Purim. 

3.  Four  other  books,  Daniel,  Ezra,  Nehemiah  and 
Chronicles.  Of  these  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  were  often 
classed  as  one  book,  while  Ezra,  Nehemiah  and  Chron- 
icles form  a  continuous  history  of  the  nation. 

II.   Its  Formation 
There  is    great  difficulty    in    determining    the    con- 
ditions attending  the   formation  of  this  third  group  of 

137 


138    Outlines  of  an  hitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

Old  Testament  writings.  A  Jewish  theory  is  that  the 
three  divisions,  Law,  Prophets  and  Kethubim,  represent 
three  descending  degrees  of  inspiration,  compared  by 
them  to  the  Holy  of  Holies,  the  Holy  Place  and  the 
Temple  Court,  a  theory  which  has  no  historical  evi- 
dence in  its  favor  and  which  is  not  confirmed  by  the 
contents  of  the  books. 

A  more  probable  theory  is  that  the  books  of  the 
Kethubim  were  gathered  later  than  the  others  and 
included  those  works  which  they  thought  were 
undoubtedly  inspired  but  which  for  various  reasons 
could  not  properly  be  included  in  the  first  two  divi- 
sions. 

We  may  perhaps  find  a  further  reason  for  their  sep- 
arate classification  in  the  subjective  character  of  these 
books.  They  present  truth,  not  in  the  abstract,  nor 
yet  as  an  external  force  claiming  dominion  over  man 
both  in  thought  and  life,  but  as  developed  in  the 
thought  and  experience  of  men.  Even  Daniel, 
intensely  prophetic  as  his  work  is,  seems  to  come  up 
to  it  in  a  personal  way  peculiar  to  himself,  growing  out 
of  his  profound  study  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  the 
providence  of  God,  and  his  own  participation  in  the 
great  questions  of  state  around  which  his  prophecies 
center.  So,  too,  the  historical  books,  Ezra,  Nehemiah 
and  Chronicles,  develop  the  history,  not  along  general 
lines,  but  as  it  bears  specifically  on  the  religious,  sub- 
jective life  of  the  nation  to  which  the  history  relates. 

HI.   The  Poetical  Books 

The  first  place  in  this  division  is  given  to  the  poetical 
books.  Before  taking  up  the  individual  books  we 
present  some  features  of  Hebrew  poetry,  common  to 


The  Kcthubim  or  Writings  139 

all  of  them   and  which  must  be  understood  in  order  to 
a  just  appreciation  of  their  contents. 

I.  Its  Extent 

1.  Poetical  forms  of  expression  may  be  found  in  the 
very  beginning  of  Hebrew  literature  and  its  first  speci- 
mens show  the  same  critical  features  as  mark  the 
Psalms  of  David  and  his  successors.  In  Genesis  4:23, 
24  we  have  the  Song  of  Lamech,  and  in  Genesis  49  the 
Benediction  of  the  dying  Jacob,  which  possess  all  the 
characteristics  of  the  latest  forms  of  Hebrew  poetry. 

2.  The  extent  of  the  poetical  element  in  the  Old 
Testament  will  be  seen  when  we  note  the  fact  that  five 
entire  books,  Psalms,  Job,  Proverbs,  Lamentations  and 
the  Song  of  Solomon  are  written  in  poetry,  while  in  the 
historical  books  many  beautiful  poems  are  recorded, 
e.g.,  Judges  5  has  the  Song  of  Deborah,  and  in  2 
Sam.  1:19  and  3:33  are  the  Elegies  of  David.  The 
prophets,  too,  often  express  their  teaching  in  poetical 
form  and  their  words  must  be  so  understood  before  we 
can  adequately  comprehend  their  meaning.  Some- 
times a  complete  poem  is  introduced  in  the  midst  of 
the  prophecy,  as  in  Jonah  2:2-9;  Isaiah's  triumph  over 
Babylon,  14:4-23;  and  Habakkuk's  prayer,  Ch.  3. 
Fully  one-third  of  the  Old  Testament  is  expressed  in 
poetical  form. 

II.  Its  Tone 

I.  Hebrew  poetry  is  preeminently  subjective  and 
hence  we  find  nothing  which  corresponds  to  the  mod- 
ern epic,  or  narrative,  but  little  of  the  dramatic,  more 
of  the  didactic,  while  the  great  mass  is  lyric,  which  calls 
for  the  subjective  form  of  expression  in  the  personal 
emotions  and  experiences  of  the  writer. 


140     Outlines  of  an  Introductio7i  to  the  Old  Testame7it 

2.  It  is  also  intensely  theistic.  The  idea  of  a  God 
is  assumed  and  His  personal  action  seen  in  nature  and 
in  the  varying  fortunes  of  man,  while  man  attains  his 
highest  glory  in  resignation  to  the  will  of  God  and 
heartfelt  obedience  to  His  commands. 

3.  It  may  be  also  called  cosmopolitan.  The  heart- 
throb of  the  ancient  Psalmist  stirs  the  heart  of  man 
to-day  as  it  did  of  old.  Persons  under  the  utmost 
diversity  of  earthly  conditions  and  doctrinal  ideas  find 
in  the  Psalms  a  common  channel  for  the  expression  of 
their  loftiest  thoughts. 

4.  More  than  all  else  it  is  profoundly  religious.  Its 
chosen  themes  are  God  and  th-e  soul,  the  unrest  caused 
by  sin  and  the  peace  which  follows  forgiveness;  it 
answers  the  cry  of  impotence  and  ignorance  by  reveal- 
ing a  God  whose  loving  care  satisfies  the  soul. 

III.  Its  External  Form 

1.  Like  the  poets  of  all  lands  the  Hebrew  poet 
makes  large  use  of  archaic  forms  and  modes  of  expres- 
sion, and  loves  to  introduce  words  rarely  used  in  ordi- 
nary composition. 

2.  Often,  too,  we  find  the  poet  resorting  to  special 
devices  calculated  to  increase  the  interest  of  the  reader. 
Such  are  the  Acrostic  Psalms  34,  35,  in  which  the  first 
verse  begins  with  the  first  letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet, 
the  second  verse  with  the  second  letter,  and  so  through 
the  Psalm.  Psalm  119  begins  the  first  eight  verses 
with  the  first  letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  the  second 
eight  verses  with  the  second  letter  and  continues  this 
arrangement  until  all  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  are 
employed.  The  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  presents  a  re- 
markable acrostic  structure. 


TJic  Kcthiibim  or  Writings  14 1 

3.  More  characteristic  is  the  pronounced  rhythm  of 
the  sentence  in  Hebrew  poetry.  There  is  nothing  to 
correspond  with  our  meter  as  found  in  the  regular 
sequence  of  syllables  and  in  each  line  having  a  prescribed 
number  of  syllables,  nor  do  we  find  any  attempt  at  the 
modern  rhyme  where  the  last  syllables  of  certain  lines 
are  similar  in  tone.  The  lines  may  be  longer  or 
shorter,  although  usually  consisting  of  seven  or  eight 
syllables,  and  their  sequence  is  regulated  so  that  in 
their  utterance  a  musical  cadence  is  obtained,  some- 
what like  our  modern  intoning. 

4.  The  most  prominent  feature  of  Hebrew  poetry  is 
its  parallelism.  The  verse  is  usually  divided  into  two 
sections,  sometimes  into  three  or  more,  generally  of 
about  the  same  length,  in  which  the  second  clause 
reechoes  in  some  way  the  thought  of  the  first  clause. 
The  different  forms  of  parallelism  are  thus  stated: 

(i)  Synonymous  parallelism,  where  the  second  line 
repeats  the  thought  of  the  first.  Ps.  19:1;  Isa.  55:6; 
Prov.  6:2.  This  is  the  most  common  form  of  parallel- 
ism. 

(2)  Antithetic  parallelism,  where  the  expression  of 
the  second  line  stands  opposed  to  that  of  the  first. 
Prov.  10:1;  Ps.  1:6.  This  form  is  very  common  in  the 
gnomic  poetry  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs. 

(3)  Synthetic  parallelism,  where  the  succeeding 
lines  supplement  or  complete  the  first,  or  stand  related 
to  it  as  cause  or  consequence.     Ps.  2:6;   19:8-11. 

These  different  forms  of  parallelism  are  frequently 
interwoven  in  the  same  Psalm.  Occasionally  the 
thought  is  fully  expressed  in  a  single  line,  at  other 
times  several  are  employed.  Ps.  46:9;  Isa.  1:3.  The 
relation    of    the    lines    to   each   other  is   often   varied, 


142     Otitlijics  of  an  Intro diictio7i  to  the  Old  Testament 

bringing  the  first  and  third,  second  and  fourth  together, 
or  the  first  and  fourth,  second  and  third.  2  Sam. 
3'33>  34-  Frequent  changes  in  these  combinations 
give  great  variety  to  the  poem.  In  Job  39:19-25  fifteen 
lines  are  thus  grouped,  and  in  Deut.  33  the  Blessing  of 
Moses  on  Levi  has  seventeen  lines. 

5.  The  Strophe.  When  several  parallelisms  have  a 
unity  of  thought  they  form  a  strophe  or  stanza.  This 
is  similar  to  but  not  identical  with  the  Greek  strophe, 
where  we  find  a  regularly  recurring  arrangement  in  the 
lines  of  a  poem.  In  the  Hebrew  the  lines  may  be 
longer  or  shorter,  few  or  many,  uniform  throughout  the 
poem  or  each  line  different  from  the  others,  Num. 
21:27-30,  the  only  demand  being  that  they  center 
around  one  theme.  Often  the  strophe  ends  with  a 
refrain  or  chorus.  In  Ps.  8  we  find  two  strophes  of 
eight  lines  each,  the  first  having  the  refrain  at  the 
beginning,  the  second  at  the  end. 

For  a  study  of  Hebrew  poetry  see  Lowth's  Sacred 
Poetry  of  the  Hebrezvs,  Herder's  Spirit  of  Hehrezv  Poetry, 
Taylor's  Spirit  of  Hebrezv  Poetry,  Briggs'  Study  of  Holy 
Scripture  and  his  articles  on  the  subject  in  Hebraica, 
Vols.  HI  and  IV. 

THE   PSALMS 

I.  Name 
The  Hebrew  name  of  the  book  is  Sepher  Tehillim, 
"Book  of  Praises,"  frequently  shortened  to  Tehillim  or 
Tillim,  "Praises."  In  a  note  at  the  end  of  Psalm  72  they 
are  called  Tephilloth,  "Prayers."  See  also  titles  of 
Ps.  17,  86,  90,  102.  The  Septuagint  name  of  the  book 
\sPsalmoi,  "Psalms,' '  because  they  were  to  be  sung  with 
an  instrumental  accompaniment.      In   Luke  20:42  and 


Tlie  Kcthtibim  or  Writings  143 

Acts  1:20  it  is  called  "The  Book  of  Psalms."  In  the 
early  Christian  church  it  is  called  "The  Psalter."  Its 
place  in  the  Jewish  service  corresponds  to  the  hymn 
book  in  our  Protestant  churches.  Herder  well  calls 
it  "The  Hymn  Book  for  all  Time,"  for  it  is  more  com- 
prehensive than  any  modern  collection  designed  for 
religious  service. 

II.    Its  Position  in  the  Old  Testament 

In  most  German  manuscripts  and  in  our  printed  He- 
brew Bibles  the  Psalms  occupy  the  first  place  in  the 
third  section,  the  Kethubim,  into  which  the  Hebrew 
Bible  is  divided.  In  Spanish  manuscripts  generally, 
and  in  Masoretic  lists,  it  follows  Chronicles.  In  one 
list  the  Psalms  follow  Job,  which  stands  first  in  this  third 
section,  and  this  order  is  followed  in  the  Septuagint, 
the  Vulgate  and  our  English  Bible.  According  to  the 
Babylonian  Talmud  the  order  is  Ruth,  Psalms,  Job,  etc., 
Ruth  being  regarded  as  a  sort  of  prelude  to  the  Psalms 
because  David  was  descended  from  Ruth.  The  order 
of  the  Hebrew  Bible  is  the  most  natural  on  account  of 
the  prominence  of  the  Psalms. 

III.  Structure  of  the  Book 

I.  In  the  Hebrew,  as  in  our  English  Bible,  there  are 
150  Psalms.  The  Septuagint  and  Syriac  have  151,  but 
the  last  is  apocryphal.  But  in  making  up  the  num- 
ber the  Septuagint  differs  from  the  Syriac,  and  both 
differ  from  the  Hebrew.  The  Septuagint  and  the  Vul- 
gate join  together  Psalms  9  and  10,  also  114  and  115, 
and  then  divide  116  and  147.  The  Syriac  joins  Psalms 
114  and  115,  and  divides  147.  The  Hebrew  frequently 
differs  from  the  English  in  numbering  the  verses  of  a 


144    Outlines  of  an  Introductioji  to  the  Old  Testament 

Psalm.     The  Hebrew  regards  the  superscription  as  the 
first  verse  while  the  English  never  so  regards  it. 

2.  The  Book  of  Psalms  is,  in  Hebrew,  as  in  our 
Revised  Version,  divided  into  five  books,  each  having 
its  own  characteristics.  In  this  there  is  an  evident 
attempt  to  conform  to  the  five  books  of  the  Penta- 
teuch. Jewish  tradition  says  that  as  Moses  gave  them 
the  five  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  so  David  gave  them 
the  five  books  of  Psalms.  These  books  are  divided  as 
follows: 

First  Book,  Psalms  i  to  41;  Second  Book,  Psalms  42 
to  72;  Third  Book,  Psalms  73  to  89;  Fourth  Book, 
Psalms  90  to  106;  Fifth  Book,  Psalms  107  to  150. 

3.  Each  book  ends  with  a  suitable  doxology,  except 
that  the  last  Psalm  of  the  entire  collection  forms  a  sort 
of  amplified  doxology  for  the  entire  series. 

4.  The  structure  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  as  it  now 
stands  suggests  the  idea  that  at  first  it  consisted  only 
of  the  Psalms  now  comprising  the  first  book  and  that 
the  other  books  were  afterward  added  as  the  number 
of  Psalms  available  for  worship  increased. 

The  individuality  of  each  book  is  easily  recognized. 
The  difference  in  the  divine  name  employed  in 
the  different  parts  shows  that  a  different  thought 
has  controlled  each  collection.  Thus,  in  the  First 
Book  the  name  Jehovah  is  used  272  times,  while 
Elohim  occurs  only  15  times.  In  the  Second  Book  we 
find  the  opposite,  for  there  Jehovah  is  used  only  30 
times  and  Elohim  164  times.  In  the  Third  Book  each 
name  is  used  nearly  the  same  number  of  times,  while 
in  the  fourth  Jehovah  only  is  used,  as  it  is  also  in  the 
Fifth  Book  except  in  Psalms  108  and  144. 

Groups  of  Psalms  written  by  one  author  or  having  a 


The  KetJiiibim  or  Writings  145 

common  purpose  are  found  in  each  book.  In  the 
First  Book  all  the  Psalms  are  ascribed  to  David,  except 
four,  I,  2,  10,  and  33,  which  are  anonymous.  In  the 
Second  Book  we  have  a  series  by  "the  Sons  of 
Korah."  In  the  Third  Book  a  series  by  Asaph,  and 
in  the  Fifth  Book  are  "The  Songs  of  Degrees,  or 
Ascents."  Kirkpatrick  says  {The  Psalms^  Introd. 
Iviii),  "Speaking  broadly  and  generally,  the  Psalms 
of  the  First  Division  are  perso7ial^  those  of  the  Second 
7mtional^  those  of  the  Third  liturgical ^ 

From  a  careful  study  of  the  contents  of  these  differ- 
ent books  we  may  draw  the  general  conclusion  that 
the  First  Book  was  prepared  soon  after  the  death  of 
David,  possibly  by  Solomon  who  took  such  an  interest 
in  the  temple  service.  The  Second  and  Third  Books 
point  to  the  time  of  Hezekiah  or  Josiah,  2  Chron. 
29:30.  The  Fourth  and  Fifth  Books  plainly  reveal  a 
post-exilian  origin,  and  may  be  referred  to  the  time  of 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  But  this  conclusion  must  be 
received  with  some  exceptions  for  there  are  Psalms  in 
one  collection  which  manifestly  belong  to  the  period 
assigned  to  another,  and  possibly  some  are  even  later 
than  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  While  there  is 
an  evident  general  adherence  to  chronological  order 
there  is  also  a  manifest  desire  to  group  similar  Psalms, 
which  has  caused  a  deviation  from  that  order. 

IV.    The  Inscriptions 

One  hundred  and  sixteen  of  the  Psalms  have  some 
sort  of  an  inscription,  pointing  out  their  author,  or  the 
place  or  manner  of  their  use,  while  the  remaining 
thirty-four  are  without  any  mark  by  which  we  can 
locate  them.  The  Jews  call  the  latter  "Orphan  Psalms." 


146    Outli?ies  of  an  Introdiictioji  to  the  Old  Testament 

While  these  inscriptions  are  very  old  and  in  some  cases 
may  be  genuine,  they  cannot  be  relied  upon  as  a  part  of 
the  original  Psalm,  nor  are  they  always  correct. 
These  inscriptions  may  be  classified  as  follows: 

1.  Those  relating  to  authorship.  In  Hebrew  we  find 
the  preposition  Lamed,  "Belonging  to,"  prefixed  to 
the  name  of  an  author  as  an  indication  of  authorship. 
Ps,  3.  Thus  Lamed  David  or  Asaph  would  indicate 
that  David  or  Asaph  was  the  author.  In  this  way  we 
find  73  Psalms  assigned  to  David;  24  to  the  famous 
musicians  of  David  who  had  charge  of  the  temple 
music  (viz.,  12  to  Asaph,  ii  to  the  sons  of  Korah,  and 
I  to  Ethan);  2  to  Solomon;  i  to  Moses,  and  i  to 
Heman.  In  the  Talmud,  Psalm  92  is  assigned  to 
Adam,  Psalm  no  to  Melchisedek,  and  Ethan  is  said 
to  be  another  name  for  Abraham. 

2.  Those  which  tell  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  Psalm  was  written.  Nearly  all  these  relate  to 
well-known  historical  events.  Ps.  54  refers  to  I  Sam. 
23:19.  Ps.  59  rests  on  i  Sam.  19.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that  this  class  of  inscriptions  is  limited  to  those 
Psalms  which  are  ascribed  to  David  and  Asaph. 

3.  Those  which  give  directions  in  regard  to  the  use 
to  be  made  of  them.  Some  of  them  are  evidently 
liturgical.  Thus,  Lamnatstseahh,  "For  the  Precentor," 
which  occurs  in  55  Psalms,  means  that  the  Psalm  was 
to  go  to  the  leader  of  the  singers,  who  would  see  to  its 
musical  rendering  in  the  worship.  Other  similar 
inscriptions  are  Mizmor,  "A  song  to  be  sung  with  a 
musical  accompaniment,"  found  in  57  Psalms,  mostly 
ascribed  to  David;  Maskil,  "A  skillfully  prepared  or 
didactic  song,"  or  one  requiring  careful  attention  in 
the  rendering. 


The  KctJuibim  or  Writings  147 

4.  Other  inscriptions  designate  the  instruments  to  be 
employed,  as  NcliilotJi,  "To  or  with  the  flute,"  Ps.  5. 
Ncginoth,  "With  stringed  instruments,"  Ps.  4. 

5.  Still  others  refer  to  the  kind  of  music  appropriate 
to  the  Psalm,  e.  g.,  Ps.  22,Ayyclcth  HaslishahJiar,  "Upon 
the  hind  of  the  dawn,"  means  that  the  Psalm  is  to  be 
rendered  to  the  tune  known  by  that  name. 

6.  Ps.  120-134  have  the  inscription  "Song  of  De- 
grees," or  as  the  Revised  Version  has  it,  "Song  of 
Ascents."  The  words  have  been  variously  explained. 
Delitzsch  finds  the  key  in  the  rhythmical  structure  of  the 
Psalm,  the  thought  ascending  verse  by  verse  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end.  But  this  is  not  true  of  all  of  them, 
and  is  by  no  means  peculiar  to  these  Psalms,  as  the 
same  feature  may  be  found  in  other  Psalms.  Some 
Jewish  writers  refer  it  to  the  fifteen  steps  leading  from 
the  court  of  the  men  to  that  of  the  women,  upon  which 
the  singers  stood  singing  one  Psalm  on  each  step  as 
they  w^ent  up  the  ascent.  By  others  the  term  is 
explained  by  saying  these  Psalms  were  sung  by  the 
exiles  as  they  went  up  from  Babylon  after  their  long 
captivity  was  ended,  Ezra  7:9.  They  are  admirably 
adapted  for  such  service.  From  the  fact  that  the 
word  "ascents"  is  in  the  plural,  others  think  it  refers  to 
the  annual  pilgrimages  which  the  devout  Jew  made  to 
Jerusalem  to  observe  the  great  feasts,  Isa.  30:29. 
Such  a  historical  basis  gives  a  fine  setting  to  the 
Psalms,  and  may  be  accepted  as  the  most  probable 
solution. 

7.  To  these  musical  terms,  although  it  is  not  strictly 
speaking  an  inscription,  we  may  add  the  word 
Sclali,  which  occurs  frequently  in  the  body  of  the 
Psalm,  and  has  greatly  perplexed  the  critics.     By  the 


1 48     Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

older  Hebrew  writers  it  is  regarded  as  equivalent  to 
"Eternity."  Gesenius  would  render  it  "Pause,"  used 
like  the  word  "Rest"  in  our  modern  tunes,  indicating 
that  here  there  is  to  be  a  rest  in  the  singing,  or  in  the 
use  of  instruments,  or  both.  The  Septuagint  takes 
the  opposite  view  and  understands  it  to  mean  that 
here  there  is  to  be  a  louder,  loftier  strain,  an  interlude 
in  which  the  instruments  alone  are  to  be  used  to  their 
fullest  capacity.  No  one  would  venture  to  be  very 
positive  in  regard  to  the  use  of  a  word  so  variously 
construed,  but  the  latter  suggestion  seems  best  to 
explain  its  use. 

In  regard  to  all  these  inscriptions  there  is  much 
uncertainty  attending  them,  owing  to  the  enigmatical 
character  of  the  terms  employed.  While  unquestion- 
ably very  ancient  they  cannot  be  traced  back  to  the 
time  when  the  Psalm  was  written.  That  the  author  of 
a  Psalm  might  prefix  his  name  to  it  or  give  some 
instruction  as  to  its  musical  rendering  does  not  seem 
improbable,  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  such  was 
the  custom.  We  are  therefore  left  largely  to  internal 
evidence,  which  is  an  exceedingly  uncertain  founda- 
tion for  assertion.  While  therefore  we  admit  that 
these  inscriptions  are  very  old  and  as  such  entitled  to 
the  greatest  respect,  yet  they  must  be  tested  as  to  their 
historical  accuracy  before  they  are  accepted.  Fortu- 
nately it  is  a  question  of  comparatively  little  impor- 
tance since  the  contents  and  not  the  writer  must 
determine  the  value  of  the  production. 

V.  Authorship 

The  question  in  regard  to  the  authorship  of  the 
Psalms  is  one  of  the  most  perplexing  connected  with 


The  Kctlmbim  or  Writings  1 49 

our  study  and  the  most  diverse  answers  have  been 
given.  If  we  may  trust  the  inscriptions,  the  authorship 
is  fixed  for  a  large  majority  of  them  and  the  age  6i  the 
others  might  be  determined  largely  by  comparing  them 
with  those  Psalms  the  authorship  of  which  is  given. 
But  we  cannot  show  positively  that  the  inscriptions 
were  added  by  the  original  writers  of  the  Psalms. 
Indeed,  while  they  are  very  ancient,  it  is  almost  cer- 
tain that  some  of  them,  at  least,  are  not  a  part  of  the 
original  Psalm.  If  we  attempt  to  fix  the  authorship  by 
internal  evidence  we  are  at  once  involved  in  almost 
hopeless  difificulty.  We  do  not  know  enough  about 
the  details  of  the  life  of  David,  for  example,  to  say 
that  the  references  in  a  certain  Psalm  must  refer  only 
to  events  in  his  life  or  could  not  possibly  refer  to  him. 
The  local  conditions  would  give  to  an  event  a  very 
different  color  from  our  conception  of  it  when  the  cen- 
turies have  stripped  it  of  its  surroundings. 

The  modern  tendency  is  to  insist  positively  on  such 
internal  identification  before  admitting  the  correctness 
of  the  inscription.  The  extreme  position  of  Wellhau- 
sen,  Cheyne,  Duhm  and  others  who  follow  this  school 
of  thought,  is  seen  in  the  declaration  of  Wellhausen: 
"The  question  is  not  whether  it  (the  Psalter)  contains 
any  post-exilic  Psalms,  but  whether  it  contains  any 
pre-exilic  Psalms."  Professor  Cheyne,  in  his  Bampton 
Lectures,  maintains  that  with  the  possible  exception 
of  a  few  verses  in  Psalm  18  the  entire  Psalter  is  post- 
exilic.  Duhm  goes  still  further  from  the  traditional 
view  and  declares  that  most  if  not  all  of  the  Psalter 
is  a  product  of  the  Maccabean  troubles.     (B.  C.  178-70.) 

The  historical  evidence  seems  effectually  to  refute 
such   an   extreme    position.      The    post-exilic    writers 


1 50    02itlines  of  an  bitrodtictioji  to  the  Old  Testamefit 

refer  to  the  collection  as  one  in  familiar  use,  often 
quoting  directly  or  indirectly  from  it;  it  is  evidently 
older  than  the  Septuagint  translation;  such  produc- 
tions were  common,  as  seen  from  Jer.  33:11  where 
Jeremiah  quotes  from  Psalm  106:1;  Isa.  30:29  and, 
earlier  still,  Amos  5:23  and  8:10  refer  to  songs  for 
religious  purposes;  the  antiquity  of  the  inscriptions 
given  to  many  Psalms  shows  a  strong  probability,  if  it 
does  not  furnish  absolute  proof,  of  David's  authorship; 
and  there  is  much  about  the  man  which  would  lead  us 
to  expect  such  work  from  him.  If,  as  some  assert,  the 
internal  evidence  is  sometimes  unfavorable  to  David, 
in  very  many  other  instances  it  seems  almost  impos- 
sible to  find  any  other  application.  Instances  of  this 
are  so  numerous  and  so  unique  as  to  need  no  specifica- 
tion. It  is  David,  and  not  some  one  representing  him, 
who  cries  out  in  his  distress,  who  shouts  forth  his  joy 
or  tells  in  plaintive  strains  the  story  of  his  own  tempta- 
tion, sin  and  restoration.  To  say  that  some  one,  hun- 
dreds of  years  later,  is  here  simulating  the  experience 
of  David  is  a  most  unlikely  assumption.  David  had 
just  such  experiences  and  he  was  abundantly  able  to 
describe  them  in  penitential  song  or  in  magnificent 
odes  where  the  imagery  conforms  to  the  grandeur  of 
the  thought.  In  his  boyhood  he  appears  before  Saul 
as  a  skillful  musician,  i  Sam.  i6:i7ff.  From  2  Sam. 
1:17  and  22:1  we  discover  his  ability  as  a  poet.  From 
Amos  6:5  we  learn  how  the  memory  of  his  poetical 
melodies  lingered  long  among  the  people. 

If,  as  the  external  testimony  shows  and  as  most 
critics  agree,  the  eighteenth  Psalm  was  written  by 
David  there  is  no  inherent  reason  why  he  should  not 
have  written  many  more.     In  this  eighteenth  Psalm 


TJic  Kethicbim  or  Writings  151 

there  is  a  high  degree  of  poetic  skill,  a  deep  insight 
into  spiritual  matters,  a  profound  conception  of  the 
divine  character,  both  in  its  sterner  and  more  merciful 
qualities,  such  as  we  find  pervading  that  large  part  of 
the  Psalter  ascribed  to  David.  If  one  has  no  theory  to 
uphold  the  evidence  for  David's  authorship  of  those 
ascribed  to  him  seems  to  stand  on  an  equality  with  the 
evidence  for  his  authorship  of  the  eighteenth. 

Some  of  the  inscriptions  are  manifestly  incorrect 
while  many  Psalms  have  no  inscription.  That  these 
should  be  of  later  origin  we  may  readily  admit.  With 
the  growing  experience  of  both  personal  and  national 
life  poems  devoted  to  the  new  conditions  would  find 
expression  and  naturally  be  added  to  the  older  collec- 
tions. 

While  then  we  confess  to  the  great  uncertainty  sur- 
rounding the  origin  of  many  of  the  Psalms  we  find  no 
valid  reason  for  refusing  to  believe  that  the  tradition 
expressed  in  the  inscriptions  is  substantially  correct. 
That  heroic  age  and  its  matchless  leader  find  a  fit 
expression  in  this  collection  of  Psalms  and  this  cannot 
be  said  so  appropriately  of  any  other  period  of  Jewish 
history. 

VI.  The  Teachings  of  the  Psalms 

I.  The  Psalms  cover  the  entire  field  of  ethical 
thought.  God,  man,  nature,  providence,  good  and 
evil,  the  deep  problems  of  sin  and  suffering,  righteous- 
ness and  peace  with  God,  the  origin  and  destiny  of  the 
individual  and  of  the  nation,  all  these  and  many 
another  question  are  here  discussed  with  a  breadth  of 
vision  and  a  loftiness  of  conception  which  give  to  their 
teaching  a  universal  application.     In  all  ages  men  have 


152    Outlines  of  a?i  Introductio7i  to  the  Old  Testame?it 

been  content  to  clothe  their  most  profound  convictions 
in  the  language  here  employed. 

2.  Much  exception  has  been  taken  to  what  are  called 
the  Imprecatory  Psalms.  In  Psalms  like  58,  69,  137, 
in  the  midst  of  the  sweetest  meditations  on  the  love 
of  God  and  absolute  trust  in  Him,  we  find  the  most 
fearful  imprecations,  anathemas  which  leave  no  good 
to  be  hoped  for  and  most  terrible  suffering  to  be 
endured,  69:22-28.  Even  children  are  not  spared, 
137:9.  Certainly  they  cannot  be  justified  as  personal 
maledictions  against  evil-doers.  Nor  is  it  enough  to 
say  they  are  a  product  of  the  Old  Dispensation  as  con- 
trasted with  the  New,  although  that  may  somewhat 
relieve  the  strain,  for  they  did  not  have  the  strong  light 
we  enjoy  on  these  moral  questions.  If  we  may  accept 
the  idea  that  in  the  Psalms  we  are  to  consider  the 
writer  as  expressing  not  his  own  personal  thoughts  but 
as  representing  the  community,  the  nation,  the  Israel- 
itish  church,  then  they  represent  the  intense  yearning 
zeal  for  God  which  would  sweep  away  every  barrier  to 
the  coming  of  His  kingdom,  and  which  regards  per- 
sistent, willful  opposition  to  God  as  really  deserving 
absolute  destruction.  The  Psalmists,  like  the  Proph- 
ets, had  a  most  vivid  sense  of  the  wickedness  of  such 
stubborn  hatred,  manifesting  itself  in  continual  and 
intentional  wrong-doing,  and  felt  that  it  deserved 
exemplary  and  condign  punishment.  All  this  is  far 
removed  from  thoughts  of  personal  vengeance.  They 
have  no  desire  to  become  the  instruments  of  such  pun- 
ishment. The  thought  is,  Let  God  arise  and  vindicate 
His  truth  and  protect  His  own.  In  proportion  as  the 
heart  rises  up  to  God,  as  the  human  spirit  is  con- 
formed to  the  divine  spirit,  as  all  personal  passion  and 


TJic  KctJmbim  or  Writings  153 

prejudice  are  removed  and  sin  stands  out  in  its  hateful 
perversity  there  comes  a  feeling  that  such  wickedness 
ought  not  to  go  unpunished,  that  the  cause  of  truth 
demands  that  vengeance  overtake  the  wrong-doer. 
There  is  such  a  thing  as  inspired  passion  for  justice, 
which  cannot  be  ignored. 

3.  The  Messianic  element  in  the  Psalms  appears  in 
many  forms.  He  is  the  King,  crowned  by  Jehovah 
Himself,  Ps.  2,  that  all  nations  may  be  subdued  unto 
God.  His  triumph  is  celebrated,  Ps.  18.  His  noble, 
beneficent  character  is  eulogized,  Pss.  45  and  72.  He 
is  a  priest  uniting  in  Himself  royal  and  priestly  func- 
tions, Ps.  no.  He  has  universal  dominion,  Pss.  22 
and  45.  He  triumphs  through  suffering  and  death,  Pss. 
22  and  6g.  Of  this  the  suffering  of  David  often 
becomes  typical.  Thus  the  lesson  of  Messiahship  is 
slowly  unfolded.  The  nation  is  made  familiar  with  the 
thought  of  a  King  whose  prowess  is  invincible  and  a 
Priest  whose  personal  sacrifice  avails  for  the  rescue  of 
His  people.  The  true  light  shone  on  them,  not  in  the 
full-orbed  glory  which  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  casts 
around  us,  but  in  the  growing  beauty  and  invigorating 
freshness  of  the  early  morning  when  the  dawn  chases 
the  night  away. 

4.  Plow  adequately  and  grandly  do  these  Psalms 
express  the  highest  aspirations  of  humanity!  If  they 
seem  optimistic  in  regard  to  the  final  triumph  of  right- 
eousness it  is  an  optimism  which  has  been  the  inspiration 
of  every  heroic  effort  to  reach  a  higher  and  nobler  life. 
Men  seeking  after  God,  believing  that  in  fellowship 
with  Him  is  their  true  life,  have  always  found  in  these 
productions  words  which  have  supported  them  in  the 
severest  trials  and  urged  them  to  their  grandest  triumphs. 


154    O^Ulmcs  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Tcsta?ne?it 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries:  Kirkpatrick,  Delitzsch,  Perowne. 
Hengstenberg's  Christology ;  Isaac  Taylor,  The  Spirit  of 
Hebrew  Poetry ;  Lowth,  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews ; 
Alexander,  The  Witness  of  the  Psalms  to  Christ  a7id 
Christia?iity ;  Cheyne,  Origin  and  Religiotis  Contents  of  the 
Psalter ;  Margoliouth,  Lines  of  DefeJise  of  the  Biblical 
Revelation^  page  182;  DeWitt,  The  Psalms,  a  New 
Translation  (Metrical)  with  Introduction  and  Notes; 
James  Robertson,  The  Poetry  aJid  Religion  of  the  Psabns ; 
Chambers,  The  Psalter,  A  Witness  to  the  Divine  Origin  of 
the  Bible ;  Spurgeon,  Treasury  of  David ;  Introductions 
of  Driver  and  Keil;  article  "Psalms"  in  Bible  Diction- 
aries of  Smith  and  Hastings. 

PROVERBS 

I.  Name 

The  Hebrew  title  of  this  book  is  Mishle  Shelomoh, 
"Proverbs  of  Solomon."  It  belongs  to  what  is  called 
the  Hhokhma  or  wisdom  literature,  because  it  is 
largely  given  to  philosophical  speculation  on  the  great 
questions  which  agitated  the  Jewish  mind. 

The  word  Mashal,  "proverb,"  means  properly,  "A 
representation,  i.e.,  a  statement  not  resting  solely  on  a 
single  fact,  but  standing  for  or  representing  other  simi- 
lar facts."  "The  Mashal  is  by  usage  limited  almost 
entirely  to  observations  relative  to  human  life  and 
character,  and  is  expressed  commonly  in  a  short, 
pointed  form."  (Driver,  Int.  6th  Ed.,  p.  394.)  This 
literature  embodies  the  practical  ethics  of  the  times. 
Cheyne  calls  these  writers  the  humanists   and   realists 


Tlic  Kcthubini  or  Writings  155 

of  their  times.  {Job  and  Solomon,  p.  119.)  They  were 
not  opposed  to  the  prophets  but  moved  in  a  different 
sphere,  the  practical  affairs  of  daily  life. 

They  embodied  the  result  of  their  study  in  short  pithy 
sayings  which  the  people  could  easily  grasp,  putting 
them  in  similitudes,  riddles,  dark  sayings  and  parables. 
The  Book  of  Proverbs  is  the  best  specimen  of  this  liter- 
ature. 

II.  Analysis 

The  Book  is  divided  into  seven  parts  with  an  intro- 
ductory statement  at  the  head  of  each  part  except  three 
and  seven. 

1.  The  Praise  of  Wisdom.     Chs.  1-9. 

(i)  Introduction.  1:1-6.  The  general  purpose  of 
the  Book  showing  what  wisdom  will  secure.  Verse  7 
may  be  considered  the  text  of  the  entire  book. 

(2)  Chs.  1:7  to  9:18  contain  a  series  of  discourses 
about  wisdom,  in  fifteen  sections  (Delitzsch),  each  one 
treating  of  some  quality  of  wisdom.  The  poetical 
structure  is  highly  developed,  and  the  personification 
of  wisdom  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  conceptions  of 
Hebrew  literature. 

2.  The  Proverbs  of  Solomon.  Chs.  10:1  to  22:16. 
This  section  contains  moral  teachings  and  maxims  of 
worldly  prudence.  The  separate  proverbs  are  marked 
by  great  regularity  of  form.  Each  proverb  is  com- 
posed of  two  antithetic  members.  The  tone  is  usually 
bright  and  cheerful. 

3.  Words  of  the  Wise.  Chs.  22:17  to  24:34.  These 
relate  to  justice,  intemperance  and  evil  associations. 
They  are  much  freer  in  construction  than  those  of  the 
second  section,  the  thought  generally  extending  over 


156    Otctlifies  of  a?i  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

four  members  and  often  more,  that  on  wine  drinking, 
23:29-35,  forming  a  complete  poem. 

4.  Proverbs  copied  by  Hezekiah's  men.  Chs.  25  to 
29.  This  section  has  a  strong  likeness  in  form  to  sec- 
tion two,  but  with  a  tendency  to  extend  the  distich  so 
as  to  embrace  several  members.  The  tone  of  the 
teaching  is  less  cheerful  and  deals  with  the  harsher 
phases  of  life.  There  is  also  much  repetition  of 
thought  and  even  of  expression. 

5.  The  Words  of  Agur.  Ch.  30.  These  "Words" 
are  quite  philosophical  and  the  manner  of  expression 
peculiar.  After  a  prayer,  7-9,  we  find  nine  groups  of 
proverbs  in  regard  to  human  conduct,  each  group  being 
composed  of  four  specifications.  If  we  may  read  the 
word  "Massa"  as  a  proper  name,  and  regard  it  as  the 
country  over  which  Agur  was  king,  thus  throwing 
the  proverbs  outside  of  Jewish  thought,  the  peculiar- 
ities of  expression  might  be  easily  explained.  But 
this  is  not  certain. 

6.  The  Words  of  King  Lemuel.  Ch.  31:1-9.  The 
title  should  perhaps  read,  "The  Words  of  Lemuel, 
King  of  Massa."  These  are  said  to  have  been  taught 
him  by  his  mother,  and  consist  of  pithy  maxims  in 
regard  to  the  bad  effects  of  sensuality  and  intemper- 
ance. 

7.  In  31  :io-3i  we  have  the  description  of  the  virtuous 
or  thrifty  woman,  in  which  the  verses  begin  with  the 
letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  in  their  order. 

III.  Age  and  Authorship 

From  this  general  outline  of  the  contents  it  is  plain 
that  the  book  is  of  compo-site  origin.  Parts  of  it  are 
ascribed   to   Solomon,   other   parts    to    other   authors. 


The  Kethubim  or  Writi?igs  157 

Sections  i,  2  and  4  are  directly  assigned  to  Solomon, 
unless  the  title  of  Section  i  be  regarded  as  a  heading 
given  to  the  entire  collection  by  the  final  editor.  The 
general  opinion  is  that  Section  2  is  the  personal  work 
of  Solomon  and  forms  the  basis  around  which  the 
entire  collection  was  gathered.  This  breathes  the 
atmosphere  of  the  best  thought  and  the  greatest  pros- 
perity of  the  nation.  Delitzsch  locates  the  formal  col- 
lection of  this  section  in  the  reign  of  Jehoshaphat, 
about  a  century  after  Solomon,  but  there  is  no  good 
reason  why  we  should  not  trace  the  authorship  of  the 
proverbs  in  it  back  directly  to  Solomon  himself.  His 
fitness  for  such  work   may  be  inferred   from    i   Kings 

4:32. 

To  this  original  nucleus  Hezekiah's  men  added  Chs. 
25  to  29,  ascribing  them  to  Solomon.  The  difference  in 
thought  and  language  between  this  section  and  Chs. 
10  to  24  is  thought  by  many  to  indicate  a  later  origin. 
In  Chs.  10-24  the  work  is  very  symmetrical,  the  paral- 
lelism very  regular,  the  tone  cheerful  and  the  royal 
position  honored  without  question.  In  Chs.  25  to  29 
the  formation  is  quite  irregular,  the  proverbs  are  not 
confined  to  two  members  but  extend  to  four,  five,  or 
even  ten  members,  the  evidences  are  numerous  that 
the  country  is  less  prosperous  and  the  king  less  hon- 
ored. But  all  these  conditions  may  be  due  to  the 
unfortunate  decay  of  Solomon's  later  life.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  show  that  Solomon  wrote  every  proverb 
of  the  section.  He  originated  the  form  of  expression, 
and  others,  with  less  artistic  skill  and  literary  finish, 
followed  his  models  as  closely  as  they  were  able. 

As  for  the  other  sections  of  the  book,  Chs.  i  to  9, 
which   form   a  general   introduction,   almost    certainly 


158    Outli?ies  of  ail  Introdtiction  to  the  Old  Testament 

belong  to  Solomon,  although  there  is  room  for  the 
suggestion  that  the  style,  which  differs  somewhat  from 
the  portions  which  are  traced  to  Solomon,  indicates 
that  it  may  have  been  revised  by  the  one  who  finally 
completed  the  collection.  Sections  3,  5,  6  and  7  fur- 
nish no  clue  to  their  authorship  beyond  what  the  text 
supplies. 

Much  difference  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  time 
when  the  final  collection  was  made.  Kautzsch,  The 
Literature  of  the  Old  Testament,  p.  153,  and  Cheyne, 
Founders  of  Old  Testament  Criticism,  p.  340,  place  it  after 
the  exile;  Delitzsch,  in  the  reign  of  Jehoshaphat,  a 
century  after  Solomon;  Ewald,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eighth  century  B.  C.  The  earlier  dates  seem  more 
likely  to  be  correct. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries  of  Lange,  To}^  Keil,  Stuart,  Delitzsch. 
Cheyne,  Job  and  Solo^non;  Introductions  of  Keil  and 
Driver;  "Proverbs"  in  Bible  Dictionaries  of  Smith  and 
Hastings. 

JOB 

I.   Name 

Job,  Hebrew  lyyob,  "the  persecuted  one,"  or  "the 
penitent."  The  book  receives  its  name  from  its  hero 
not  from  its  author.  Who  Job  was  we  do  not  know. 
He  is  represented  as  a  man  abounding  in  wealth  and 
eminent  for  his  piety,  living  in  patriarchal  times  in  the 
land  of  Uz.  The  mention  of  the  name  in  Ezekiel 
14:14-20  and  James  5:11  is  evidence  of  his  historical 
character.     From  the  language  it  is  probable  his  home 


Tlic  Kcthiibim  or  Writings  1 59 

was  somewhere  northeast  of  Palestine  where  the 
Aramaic  language  was  spoken.  VVe  need  not  suppose 
that  everything  happened  to  him  just  as  here  narrated. 
The  author  uses  that  well-known  character  as  a  person 
around  whom  to  group  facts  in  human  experience 
which  bear  upon  the  great  questions  before  him.  It  is 
not  a  biography  of  Job,  but  a  poem  discussing  the 
problem  of  human  suffering.  Luther  says,  "I  look 
upon  the  Book  of  Job  as  a  true  history,  yet  I  do  not 
believe  that  all  took  place  just  as  it  is  written,  but  that 
a  pious  and  learned  man  of  genius  brought  it  into  its 
present  form." 

II.  Text 

There  is  a  remarkable  difference  between  the  Hebrew 
text  and  the  oldest  form  of  the  Greek  Septuagint,  the 
latter  being  over  seven  hundred  verses  shorter  than 
the  former.  No  very  satisfactory  reason  for  this  has 
been  given,  but  Hatch,  Essays  in  Biblical  Greek,  p. 
215,  offers  a  solution  which  has  much  to  commend  it. 
He  thinks  that  the  Hebrew  text  was  enlarged  after  the 
Greek  translation  was  made  and  that  Origen  in  his 
great  work,  The  Hexapla,  enlarged  the  Greek  text  so 
as  to  make  it  conform  to  the  Hebrew  as  he  found  it. 
Margoliouth,  Li?ies  of  Defeiise  of  The  Biblical  Revela- 
tio?i,  p.  I38ff,  explains  many  difficulties  in  the  text  by 
assuming  an  Arabic  original  which  was  afterward 
translated  into  Hebrew. 

HI.  Authorship 

The  author's  name  is  not  attached  to  the  book, 
neither  is  there  anything  in  the  book  from  which  we 
can   draw  a  positive  conclusion   as   to  its  authorship. 


i6o    Outli?ics  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Tcstamait 

We  must  decide  from  a  study  of  its  contents  and  hence 
many  opinions  have  been  advanced.  These  opinions 
may  be  thus  classified: 

1.  It  was  written  by  Moses.  In  favor  of  such  early 
authorship  the  following  considerations  are  offered: 
(i)  The  Jewish  and  early  Christian  traditions  (2)  Its 
utter  silence  in  regard  to  Jewish  ritual.  (3)  Its  strong 
foreign  tone.  (4)  The  divine  names  are  those  used  by 
the  patriarchs.  Elohim  is  commonly  used  instead  of 
Jehovah. 

But  other  considerations  entirely  break  the  force  of 
such  arguments.  We  must  not  confuse  the  date  of  the 
hero  with  the  time  when  the  book  was  written.  The 
teachings  of  the  book  presuppose  an  advanced  state  of 
society,  they  point  to  a  period  when  serious  thought 
on  the  great  problems  of  life  was  well  advanced.  The 
troubled  and  uncertain  condition  of  affairs  also 
bespeaks  a  period  later  than  the  patriarchs. 

2.  Going  to  an  opposite  extreme  some  fix  the  date 
of  the  book  during  or  after  the  exile.  Such  claim  that 
the  book  is  designed  to  comfort  the  Jews,  personified 
in  Job,  during  the  fearful  struggles  which  came  upon 
them  when  their  State  was  destroyed.  Much  stress  is 
also  laid  on  the  character  of  the  language,  which  is  said 
to  be  weakened  by  words  and  idioms  used  by  the  sur- 
rounding nations  at  that  late  period.  They  tell  us 
further  that  the  advanced  ideas  of  God,  and  of  His  gov- 
ernment, and  of  Satan  demand  a  late  date,  since  the 
Jews  did  not  have  them  until  they  came  into  contact 
with  other  nations,  and  especially  after  they  were  in 
Babylon. 

But  against  this  we  may  say  that  the  doctrines  found 
in   the  Psalms  and  other  pre-exilic  literature  are  simi- 


TJic  KctJiubim  or  IVritifigs  i6i 

lar  to  the  teachings  found  in  Job.  The  peculiarities 
may  be  due  to  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  author,  for 
different  sections  of  the  land  had  many  local  varia- 
tions both  in  words  and  in  grammar.  Besides  it  is 
altogether  likely  that  the  book  came  originally  from 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  Palestine.  The  spiritual 
teachings  of  the  book  are  not  beyond  those  found  in 
the  writings  of  Solomon  and  Isaiah  and  the  book  may 
be  safely  referred  to  that  period. 

3.  A  third  class  assign  it  to  the  time  when  such 
literature  was  most  flourishing  among  the  Jews,  the 
time  of  Solomon  or  the  literary  period  following. 
The  artistic  structure,  the  philosophic  speculation,  the 
cosmopolitan  civilization  of  that  period,  the  tendency 
to  use  words  brought  among  the  Jews  by  their  contact 
with  foreign  nations  and  the  advanced  religious  ideas 
all  seem  to  favor  such  a  date.  During  the  exile  and 
later  we  do  not  find  such  a  tendency  to  speculation. 
The  troubles  of  the  captivity  and  the  demands  made 
by  the  return  to  Palestine  were  not  suited  to  the  pro- 
duction of  such  literature.  Its  general  harmony  with 
the  Psalms  and  the  wisdom  literature  of  that  period 
furnishes  a  suitable  background  for  such  a  discussion. 

IV.  Teaching  of  the  Book 

The  question  before  the  author  is  nothing  less  than 
the  purpose  of  God  in  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous. 
The  idea  that  suffering  is  infallible  proof  of  intentional 
sin  sometimes  fails  to  explain  God's  dealings  with  men. 
The  devout,  upright  man  sometimes  carries  the  heaviest 
burden  of  sorrow,  and  life  ends  without  any  vindication 
for  him  who  goes  to  his  grave  conscious  that  his  char- 
acter is  not  to  be  measured  by  his  sufferings.     Job  was 


1 62    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

such  a  man.  When  his  friends  insisted  that  he  must 
be  guilty  of  some  secret  sin,  he  stoutly  maintains  his 
innocence.  Even  when  the  darkness  shuts  out  all 
hope  of  a  vindication  in  this  life,  he  declares  his  con- 
viction that  God  will  in  some  way  and  somehow 
remove  the  brand  and  show  that  He  approves  him. 
This  is  the  height  of  the  argument.  When  Job  casts 
himself  upon  God  and  declares  his  willingness  to  wait 
for  his  justification  until  this  life  is  ended,  he  reveals  a 
conviction  concerning  the  government  of  God  which  is 
far  in  advance  of  his  friends.  He  regards  his  suffer- 
ings not  as  a  punishment  for  his  sins  but  as  a  test  of  his 
character,  a  discipline  which  will  yield  the  peaceable 
fruits  of  righteousness  if  received  in  a  spirit  of  humble 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God. 

V.  Its  Structure 

That  the  book  of  Job  is  poetical  in  form  as  well  as 
in  sentiment  is  generally  admitted.  The  ancient  Jews 
made  it  one  of  the  three  books  to  which  they  gave  the 
name  "Poetical."  The  question  which  has  agitated 
critics  is  the  kind  of  poetry  to  which  they  should 
assign  it. 

Many  have  found  in  it  the  essential  elements  of  a 
dramatic  production.  The  clearly  defined  characters 
and  their  parts  are  preserved  with  absolute  precision, 
and  while  it  lacks  the  details  of  the  Greek  or  modern 
drama,  its  steady  movement  toward  the  vindication  of 
a  noble  but  maligned  character  is  highly  dramatic. 

Others  have  contended  for  an  epic  form.  It  has  its 
hero  whose  virtues  are  praised  and  whose  trials  are 
unique  and  thrilling,  and  the  strength  and  nobility  of 
his  character  are  in  the  end  admirably  vindicated. 


TJic  KctJiubim  or  Writings  163 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  minute  details  on  such 
a  question,  for  in  those  early  ages  the  modern  distinc- 
tions had  not  been  established.  But  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  its  poetical  structure  be  clearly  recog- 
nized as  preliminary  to  any  just  conception  of  its 
grandeur. 

VI.  Contents 

In  a  general  way  we  note  the  division  into  three 
parts,  the  prologue,  the  discussion  and  the  epilogue. 
Looking  farther  we  notice  that  the  discussion  is 
divided  into  three  parts,  the  dispute  between  Job  and 
his  three  friends,  the  addresses  of  Elihu  and  those  of 
God  who  ends  the  controversy.  Again,  the  three 
friends  each  make  three  addresses,  except  that  Zophar 
fails  to  speak  the  third  time,  giving  way,  apparently, 
to  Elihu. 

The  course  of  thought  is  as  follows: 

1.  The  Introduction.  Chs.  I  and  2.  (In  prose.) 
Job's  position  and  character,  Ch.  1:1-5.  ^^^  trials, 
Ch.  1:6-2:10.  The  visit  of  his  three  friends,  Ch. 
2:11-13. 

2.  The  argument  with  the  three  friends,  Chs.  3 
to  31.     (In  poetry). 

First  Course.  Chs.  3  to  14.  Job's  lament.  Ch.  3. 
Eliphaz  accuses  Job.  Chs.  4  and  5.  Job  justifies  him- 
self. Chs.  6  and  7.  Bildad  reproves  Job.  Ch.  8. 
Job  maintains  his  innocence.  Chs.  9  and  10.  Zophar 
severely  censures  Job.  Ch.  ii.  Job  attacks  his  friends 
and  bewails  his  lot.     Chs.  12  to  14. 

Second  Course.  Chs  15  to  21.  The  controversy 
becomes  more    personal   and   bitter.      Eliphaz   argues 


164    Oiitliiics  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

that  suffering  proves  sin.  Ch.  15.  Job  bewails  the 
injustice  of  his  accusers  and  longs  for  vindication. 
Chs.  16  and  17.  Bildad  calls  Job  a  boaster  and  warns 
him.  Ch.  18.  Job  turns  from  his  friends  to  God. 
Ch.  ig.  Zophar  tells  of  the  bitter  lot  of  the  ungodly. 
Ch.  20.  Job  answers  that  the  wicked  often  prosper 
while  the  good  suffer.     Ch.  21. 

Third  Course.  Chs.  22  to  31.  The  controversy 
reaches  its  climax.  Eliphaz  accuses  Job  of  secret  sin 
and  urges  him  to  repent.  Ch.  22.  Job  calls  on  God 
for  vindication.  Chs.  23  and  24.  Bildad  contrasts 
God's  greatness  and  man's  vileness.  Ch.  25.  Job  ridi- 
cules Bildad  and  speaks  of  God's  sovereignty.  Ch. 
26.  Zophar  fails  to  appear.  Job  reasserts  his  inno- 
cence and  intimates  that  the  true  way  to  receive  chas- 
tening is  reverent  submission  to  the  divine  will.  Chs. 
27  to  31. 

3.  The  argument  with  Elihu  and  God.  Chs.  32  to 
42:6  (In  poetry).  Elihu  makes  four  addresses  to 
which  Job  makes  no  reply.  He  speaks  (i)  Of  the 
ground  and  object  of  suffering.  Chs.  32  and  33. 
(2)  Of  the  righteousness  of  God.  Ch.  34,  (3)  Accuses 
Job  of  self-righteousness.  Ch.  35.  (4)  The  righteous 
and    beneficent    government    of    God.      Chs.    36    and 

37- 

God  closes  the  discussion.  He  shows  the  folly  of 
contending  with  God.  Chs.  38  to  40:2  Job's  reply. 
Ch.  40:3-5.  God's  power  and  majesty.  Chs.  40:6  to 
41:34.     Job's  humble  confession.     Ch.  42:1-6. 

4.  The  Epilogue.  Ch.  42:7-17.  (In  prose.)  The 
judgment  on  the  three  friends.  Ch.  42:7-9.  The 
restoration  of  Job.  Ch.  42:10-15.  The  death  of  Job. 
Ch.  42:16,  17. 


The  KctJmbim  or  Writings  165 

VI.  The  Integrity  of  the  Poem 

Various  objections  have  been  raised  against  the  work 
as  it  now  stands. 

1.  One  is  against  the  Prologue  and  the  Epilogue. 
Objections  are  made  that  these  are  in  prose  while  the 
body  of  the  work  is  in  poetry,  that  Jehovah  is  the 
name  for  God  in  them  while  Elohim  is  used  elsewhere, 
that  the  character  of  Satan  is  foreign  to  early  Jewish 
history  and  thought. 

To  this  we  answer  that  the  choice  of  prose  for  the 
historical  statement  is  a  habit  of  the  author,  Chs.  32:iff; 
38:1,  and  if  these  parts  had  been  written  by  a  forger, 
he  would  have  imitated  the  manner  of  the  rest  of  the 
poem  instead  of  changing  to  prose.  As  for  the  change 
in  the  divine  names,  it  was  common  for  the  Jews  to 
call  God  Jehovah,  while  a  foreigner,  or  a  Jew  writing 
for  a  foreigner,  more  frequently  used  the  name 
Elohim.  As  for  Satan,  a  careful  study  of  what  is  said 
of  him  removes  the  objection,  for  he  is  represented  not 
as  the  antagonist  of  God,  but  as  the  agent  by  whom 
Job's  integrity  was  tested,  and  the  idea  of  God 
employing  agents  to  accomplish  His  purpose  is  as  old 
as  the  Jewish  nation. 

2.  Objection  is  made  against  Ch.  27:7-23,  on  the 
ground  that  it  contradicts  the  sentiments  of  Job 
expressed  elsewhere  in  the  poem,  in  regard  to  the 
retributive  justice  of  God.  But  there  is  nothing  in 
the  passage  which  suggests  another  speaker  than  Job 
and  the  ideas  advanced  do  not  necessarily  conflict  with 
what  he  has  to  say  elsewhere.  They  help  to  explain  his 
previous  statements. 

3.  A  third  objection   is  against  the  general   tone  of 


1 66    Oiitliiics  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

the  speeches  attributed  to  God,  and  claiming  espe- 
cially that  the  long  passages  describing  the  behe- 
moth and  leviathan  are  not  on  a  level  with  the  sublime 
energy  of  the  rest  of  the  discourse.  But  if  the  daring 
of  the  poet  in  putting  such  a  lengthy  address  in  the 
mouth  of  God  is  very  unusual,  it  is  entirely  in  keeping 
with  other  strange  features  of  the  poem,  and  the 
nature  of  the  discussion  makes  it  very  appropriate  that 
when  all  the  resources  of  men  are  exhausted,  then 
God  should  be  heard.  There  is  absolutely  nothing  to 
show  that  these  addresses  were  not  a  part  of  the  orig- 
inal work,  and  they  serve  admirably  to  bring  Job  and 
his  friends  back  to  the  necessity  of  an  uncomplaining 
trust  in  the  goodness  and  justice  of  God.  As  for  the 
description  of  the  behemoth  and  leviathan,  if  they 
seem  rather  heavy  and  unapt  to  a  modern,  western 
mind,  we  must  remember  that  to  an  oriental  mind, 
moving  in  the  circle  of  ideas  which  then  prevailed,  it 
would  seem  very  different.  Whether  they  add  to  or 
detract  from  the  poem  is  simply  a  matter  of  taste  and 
has  no  bearing  on  the  question  of  authorship. 

4.  The  most  persistent  objection  is  against  the  intro- 
duction of  Elihu.  This  is  claimed  to  be  an  interpolation 
because  he  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Prologue  or  Epi- 
logue with  the  other  speakers,  his  speeches  add  noth- 
ing to  the  argument,  they  disturb  the  movement  of  the 
plot  and  his  style  differs  from  the  rest  of  the  book. 

But  we  answer  that  a  brief  introduction  is  not  sup- 
posed to  mention  all  the  subordinate  characters  intro- 
duced in  the  discussion,  and  if  the  part  attributed  to 
Elihu  had  been  an  interpolation,  the  person  inserting 
it  would  have  been  likely  to  add  his  name  in  the  Epi- 
logue so  as  to  make  it  seem  more  like  an  integral  part 


The  KetJmbim  or  Writings  167 

of  the  poem,  while  the  author  of  the  rest  of  the  book, 
not  having  mentioned  Elihu  in  the  Prologue,  because 
he  was  not  one  of  the  main  characters,  would  naturally 
omit  him  from  the  Epilogue  for  the  same  reason.  He 
is  introduced  simply  to  add  what  the  others  have 
failed  to  say. 

It  is  evident  also  that  instead  of  being  a  superfluous 
element  the  teaching  of  Elihu  adds  much  to  the  dis- 
cussion. He  emphasizes  the  goodness  of  God  which 
has  been  overlooked  by  the  others  and  which  must 
always  be  taken  into  account  when  trying  to  explain 
the  dealings  of  God  with  men.  God  is  not  the  imper- 
sonation of  arbitrary  power  but  a  being  who  deals  with 
men  for  their  good.  Whether  He  gives  prosperity  or 
overwhelms  with  suffering  and  sorrow  the  same  love 
inspires  His  action.  This  is  very  different  from  and 
superior  to  the  arguments  advanced  by  the  three 
friends  who  have  preceded  Elihu,  and  if  Job  does  not 
make  a  formal  answer  it  is  not  because  he  does  not 
think  his  words  are  unworthy  of  notice,  but  because  he 
feels  that  his  argument  is  sound  and  meets  his  case. 
Under  such  conditions  he  had  promised  silence. 
6:24,  25. 

That  the  movement  of  the  poem  is  interfered  with 
or  the  final  issue  needlessly  delayed  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  Elihu  is  then  an  unjust  criticism.  So  impor- 
tant a  consideration  demanded  recognition  and  the 
poem  would  have  lacked  one  of  its  best  elements  if 
Elihu  had  not  spoken. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries:  Watson  in  The  Expositors  Bible; 
Cook   in   The  Speaker  s   Commentary ;  Davidson   in  TJie 


1 68    Outliiics  of  a?i  I?itrodnctio?i  to  the  Old  Testa?nent 

Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools;  Hengstenberg;  Lange; 
Delitzsch.  Green,  The  Argtime?it  for  the  Book  of  Job ; 
Gilbert,  The  Poetry  of  Job ;  Genung,  The  Epic  of  the 
hiner  Life ;  Margoliouth,  Lijies  of  Defejise  of  the  Biblical 
Revelatio?i,  p.  138;  Dillon,  The  Sceptics  of  the  Old 
Testament ;  Cheyne,  Job  a7id  Solomon;  Hatch,  Essays  i?t 
Biblical  Greeks  p.  215;  Introductions  of  Driver,  Bleek, 
Keil;  Article  "J^^"  ^"  Bible  Dictionaries  of  Smith, 
Kitto,  Hastings,  and  in  Encyclopaedia  Britan?nca.  For 
poetical  features  see  Lowth,  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  He- 
brews; and  Taylor,  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry. 

SONG  OF  SONGS 

I.  Name 
In  Yiohx^v^  Shir  Hashshirim,  "The  Song  of  Songs,** 
which  Bleek  renders  "The  most  beautiful,  the  most 
valuable  of  Songs."  In  the  Jewish  canon  it  forms  the 
first  of  the  five  Megilloth,  or  Rolls,  which  were  read 
during  their  annual  festivals,  the  Song  of  Songs  being 
reserved  for  the  Passover. 

II.    Authorship 

The  idea  of  authorship  rests  largely  upon  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  book. 

Those  who  find  but  two  leading  characters  generally 
make  Solomon  the  author  as  well  as  the  hero.  They 
give  the  following  reasons:  the  title;  the  extensive 
knowledge  of  nature;  the  frequency  with  which  foreign 
products  are  mentioned;  the  apparent  prosperity  of 
the  times;  the  accurate  knowledge  of  different  parts 
of  the  country;  and  Solomon's  well-known  love  for 
women. 

Those  who  find  three  leading  characters  in  the  poem 


TJlc  Kctlmbim  or  Writings  169 

do  not  regard  Solomon  as  the  author,  although  many 
of  them  admit  that  it  was  written  not  long  after  Solo- 
mon's time, — Orelli  says  about  950  B.  C.  A  few,  more 
radical,  date  it  after  the  exile.  Such  claim  that  the 
title  should  be  rendered,  "A  Song  concerning  Solo- 
mon"; that  the  picture  of  Solomon  is  not  such  as  he 
would  be  likely  to  paint  of  himself,  since  it  presents 
the  deformities  of  his  character  without  its  redeeming 
qualities;  that  the  language  used  is  that  of  northern 
Palestine,  where  the  Aramaic  forms  are  more  frequent; 
and  that  the  allusions  to  natural  scenery,  plants,  cus- 
toms, etc.,  fit  that  section  and  would  come  more 
appropriately  from  a  writer  living  in  that  section  than 
from  one,  like  Solomon,  living  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  land. 

III.  Analysis 

Delitzsch  present  the  following  outline: 

Act  I.  The  lovers  meeting.     i:i  to  2:7. 

Act  2.   Monologues  of  the  Shulamite.     2:8  to  3:5. 

Act  3.  The  royal  espousals.     3:6  to  5:1. 

Act  4.   Love  lost  and  found  again.     5:2  to  6:9. 

Act  5.   The  lovely  but  modest  queen.     6:10  to  8:4. 

Act  6.  The  bridal  pair  in  the  Shulamite's  home. 
8:5-14. 

Dr.  W.  E.  Griffis  {The  Lily  among  Thorns,  p.  129)  pre- 
sents a  much  more  elaborate  scheme,  with  much  suc- 
cess. In  Lange's  Com.^  Intro. ^  p.  10,  several  others, 
adapted  to  different  theories,  are  given. 

IV.  Form 
To  what  form  of  poetical  composition  does  it  belong? 
I.   Some,    Herder,   Bleek,   say   it    is  a  collection  of 
independent  lyrics,  setting  forth  love  under  a  variety 


1 70    Outli?ies  of  an  bitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

of  aspects,  but  without  any  attempt  at  unity.  From 
twelve  to  twenty  different  poems,  besides  numerous 
fragments  and  choruses,  are  found  by  these  critics. 
They  explain  the  present  connected  form  by  the  fact 
that  originally  it  was  the  custom  to  attach  one  piece  to 
another  without  separating  them  by  titles  or  other  indi- 
cations of  change.  But  the  fact  that  the  same  charac- 
ters and  many  of  the  special  terms  reappear  in  all 
parts  of  the  poem,  and  that  the  theme  is  not  love  in 
general  but  wedded  love,  are  strongly  against  this  idea 
of  a  series  of  unconnected  poems. 

2.  Others,  Kingsbury  (Bible  Com.)  and  the  older  wri- 
ters generally,  find  in  it  a  complete  poem,  idyllic,  as 
the  title  indicates,  a  song  of  songs,  or  a  beautiful  song. 
This  they  justify  by  the  almost  perfect  structure  of  the 
poem,  its  subject  and  the  frequent  recurrence  of  the 
refrain  or  chorus,  thus  magnifying  the  effect  produced 
by  the  sentiment.  But  the  title  is  evidently  designed 
to  refer  to  the  quality  and  not  to  the  form  of  the 
poem,  and  the  frequent  changes  of  persons  and  of  the 
scenes  of  action,  together  with  the  irregular  structure, 
are  against  the  rules  of  idyllic  poetry. 

3.  A  third  class,  Delitzsch  and  most  modern  critics, 
consider  the  poem  dramatic  in  essence,  although  quite 
undeveloped  in  form.  A  few,  Renan,  try  to  find  a 
fully  developed  drama  according  to  the  modern  con- 
struction, designed  for  presentation  before  an  audience, 
but  this  is  an  extreme  which  refutes  itself.  The  essen- 
tials of  the  drama  are  here,  the  conversation  between 
the  characters,  the  change  of  scene,  the  complicated 
conditions  and  the  triumphant  deliverance  of  the  hero, 
but  it  has  the  lyric  tone  of  the  ancient  poets.  In  this 
it  is  a  companion  piece  to  the  Book  of  Job. 


The  Kctlmbmt  or  Writifigs  1 7 1 

Those  who  favor  the  dramatic  structure  are  divided 
into  two  groups;  those  who  find  two  principal  charac- 
ters (Delitzsch),  Solomon  and  the  Shulamite  maiden, 
and  those  who  find  three  (Ewald),  Solomon,  a  rustic 
lover  and  the  Shulamite.  Whichever  of  these  be 
adopted,  much  must  be  supplied  by  the  reader  to 
develop  the  sense  and  this  fact  has  led  to  a  great 
variety  of  ingenious  suggestions,  the  most  of  which  are 
more  fanciful  than  probable.  The  third  character 
seems  necessary  to  make  the  poem  consistent  with 
what  we  know  of  Solomon  and  his  time. 

V.    The  Design 

Critics  are  agreed  on  two  points.  It  is  poetical  in 
form  and  its  theme  is  love.  Beyond  this  there  is 
almost  every  conceivable  shade  of  opinion  as  to  its 
design. 

The  leading  methods  of  interpretation  are  these: 

1.  The  Allegorical,  which  treats  the  characters  as 
altogether  imaginary,  names  assumed  simply  as  a 
framework  for  the  story.  This  was  the  favorite  view 
of  the  Jewish  church,  in  a  modified  form  was  accepted 
by  the  early  church,  and  still  has  many  followers.  The 
Jews  regarded  it  as  setting  forth  the  love  of  Jehovah 
for  His  church,  Solomon  representing  God  and  the 
Shulamite  woman  the  Jews.  Origen  regarded  Solomon 
as  representing  Christ  and  the  maiden  the  Christian 
church.  Others  put  the  individual  Christian  in  the 
place  of  the  church.  This  view,  if  consistently  carried 
out,  creates  more  difficulties  than  it  explains,  is  con- 
trary to  sound  exegetical  principles,  destroys  the  his- 
torical basis  of  the  book  and  is  now  seldom  advocated. 

2.  The  Typical.     This  view  treats  the  framework  of 


1/2    Outlines  of  an  hitrodiictio7i  to  the  Old  Testame?it 

the  book  as  historical,  it  tells  of  a  real  episode  in  the 
life  of  Solomon,  who  was  in  this  one  respect  typical  of 
a  spiritual  love  and  represents  the  supreme  love  of  God 
for  His  people  (Keil),  or  of  the  soul  for  God  (Stuart), 
or  the  love  of  Christ  for  His  people  (Kingsbury). 
This  theory  has  many  and  great  attractions  and  has  a 
large  following.  The  idea  of  wedded  love  being 
typical  of  the  divine  love  for  man  pervades  both  the 
Old  and  the  New  Testaments.  But  the  character  of 
Solomon,  with  his  promiscuous  marriages,  and  the 
general  tone  of  his  treatment  of  maidens,  are  very  far 
removed  from  the  person  he  is  supposed  to  represent. 
This  theory  fails  also  to  account  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  second  lover  who  at  length  prevails  over 
Solomon. 

3.  The  Literal.  This  finds  three  principal  charac- 
ters in  the  Book:  Solomon,  a  shepherd,  and  a  maiden. 
The  design  of  the  writer  is  to  set  forth  the  strength 
and  purity  of  a  true  love  existing  between  the  shep- 
herd and  the  maiden,  by  representing  her  as  being 
brought  to  the  court  of  Solomon,  where  every  device 
is  employed  to  persuade  her  to  break  her  engagement 
to  the  'shepherd  and  become  the  wife  of  Solomon. 
She  rejects  every  advance  of  Solomon,  repeatedly 
declares  her  unalterable  love  for  the  shepherd,  longs 
for  restoration  to  him,  preferring  his  humble  home 
among  the  vineyards  on  her  native  hills  to  the  splen- 
did luxury  of  Solomon's  palace  and  finally  finds  her 
satisfaction  in  the  embrace  of  the  one  to  whom  her 
love  is  plighted.  This  theory  has  the  advantage  of 
allowing  a  place  for  the  three  characters  such  as  the 
story  demands,  preserves  their  individuality  and  makes 
the  words   of  each   fit   their    station.      It   furnishes  a 


The  KctJiubiin  or  Writings  1 73 

splendid  picture  of  what  the  Scriptures  everywhere 
exalt,  the  beauty  and  power  of  a  true  lov^e  between 
man  and  woman.  Such  an  example  has  a  lesson  for 
every  age  and  could  be  best  conveyed  in  those  days  in 
this  objective  way.  The  keynote  may  be  found  in 
Ch.  Z\^,  7.  Nor  does  this  interpretation  at  all  inter- 
fere with  our  seeing  in  the  story  a  picture  of  that 
unchanging,  divine  love  whose  constancy  is  the  foun- 
dation of  all  our  hope. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries :  Delitzsch,  Hengstenberg,  Keil,  Kings- 
bury in  Bible  Commentary,  Lange. 

W.  E.  Grififis,  TJie  Lily  amo?ig  Thor?is ;  Herder,  Spirit 
of  Hebrew  Poetry;  Lowth,  Lectures  on  the  Sacred  Poetry 
of  the  Hebrews ;  Taylor,  The  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry ; 
Introductions  of  Driver,  Bleek,  Keil,  and  articles  in 
Bible  Dictionaries  of  Smith,  Kitto  and  Hastings  and 
"Canticles"  in  E?icyclopcedia  Britamdca.  See  also  Paul 
Haupt's  treatment  of  the  book  in  American  Journal  of 
Semitic  Lariguagesy  July,  1902,  and  George  L.  Robin- 
son's in  Biblical  Worlds  September,  1902,  p.  191. 

RUTH 
I.  Name  and  Contents 

The  book  takes  its  name  from  the  person  around 
whose  fortunes  it  centers. 

Ruth  was  a  Moabitess  who  became  the  wife  of 
Mahlon,  son  of  Elimelech  and  Naomi,  who  were 
driven  by  a  famine  in  Bethlehem  to  dwell  for  a  season 
in  the  land  of  Moab.  Naomi,  after  the  death  of  her 
husband  and   two  sons,  resolves  to  return  to  her  old 


174    Otitlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

home  and  kindred  and  Ruth  accompanies  her.  There 
she  goes  to  glean  in  the  field  of  Boaz  and  finally  mar- 
ries him  and  becomes  the  ancestor  of  David.  The 
genealogy  of  David,  given  in  the  end  of  the  book, 
connects  the  history  found  in  Samuel  with  David's 
ancestors  in  the  tribe  of  Judah.  Two  points  of  inter- 
est thus  center  in  it,  the  singularly  picturesque  nar- 
rative of  the  social  life  of  the  period  and  the  light  it 
throws  on  the  ancestry  of  David,  with  its  mingling  of 
Jewish  and  Moabitish  blood. 

II.  Its  Position 

In  the  Hebrew  Bible  it  is  the  second  of  the  five 
Megilloth  and  in  later  times  was  read  annually  at  the 
Feast  of  Pentecost.  In  the  Spanish  manuscripts  it  is 
placed  first  among  these  rolls.  In  the  Talmud  it  is 
spoken  of  as  being  the  first  book  in  the  Kethubim  or 
Hagiographa.  In  the  Septuagint  and  in  our  English 
Bible  it  is  placed  between  Judges  and  Samuel  because 
of  its  historical  relations  and  to  give  proper  introduc- 
tion to  the  genealogy  of  David.  There  is  no  good 
reason  to  think  it  was  ever  considered  a  part  of  Judges, 
from  which  it  is  widely  separated  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible. 

III.    Its  Date 

The  date  of  the  facts  recorded  is  probably  about 
sixty  years  before  the  birth  of  David. 

There  is  nothing  to  fix  positively  the  date  of  the 
composition  of  the  book.  The  birth  of  David  fixes  a 
point  back  of  which  we  need  not  go,  but  how  long 
after  David's  time  we  must  go  will  depend  on  certain 
internal  conditions  which  are  not  very  decisive. 


The  KetJmbirn  or  Writings  175 

Some  would  allow  a  long  time  for  the  mellowing 
tone  which  pervades  the  book.  The  contrast  between 
the  rough,  lawless  times  recounted  in  the  book  of 
Judges  and  the  rural  security  and  peacefulness  of 
this  book  is  indeed  very  great,  but  the  two  might 
easily  coexist  as  we  can  see  from  the  history  of  any 
country.  During  the  most  harrowing  times  of  our 
own  Revolutionary  and  Civil  wars  there  were  not 
wanting  beautiful  visions  of  domestic  and  rural  tran- 
quillity. 

From  the  fact  that  it  traces  the  genealogy  of  David 
but  does  not  mention  Solomon  some  have  inferred  that 
it  was  written  in  the  lifetime  of  David.  The  language 
shows  no  signs  of  decay  such  as  we  find  after  the  exile, 
or  even  after  Solomon's  time.  Driver  says  it  stands 
on  a  level  with  the  best  parts  of  Samuel.  The  few 
words  which  have  been  called  Aramaic  may  easily 
have  been  current  in  the  colloquial  language  of  the 
people  at  any  period  of  their  history.  There  does  not 
seem  any  strong  reason  for  assigning  the  composition 
of  the  book  to  a  date  much  later  than  that  of  David. 
The  hostility  of  the  Jews  to  marriage  with  foreigners 
became  more  intense  from  that  time,  i  Kings  1 1:1,  2, 
until  it  soon  became  a  cause  of  reproach.  The  intense 
bitterness  of  this  feeling  in  Ezra's  time  would  seem 
effectually  to  show  that  it  could  not  have  originated  in 
his  day. 

The  passage  in  47,  explaining  the  casting  off  of  the 
shoe,  is  the  strongest  argument  for  a  late  date,  but 
this  does  not  call  for  an  exilic  or  post-exilic  date,  as 
Ewald  and  Wellhausen  think,  for  in  the  primitive 
conditions  then  existing  one  or  two  centuries  often 
bring  about  great  changes  of  social  customs. 


1 76    Outlines  of  an  Introdtiction  to  the  Old  Testament 

IV.  Its  Purpose 

Various  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  the  exist- 
ence of  the  book:  to  recommend  the  duty  of  Levirate 
marriage,  Deut.  25:5;  to  reprove  the  intolerance  of  the 
Jews  toward  foreign  marriages;  to  soften  the  dark  out- 
lines of  the  book  of  Judges;  and  to  record  the  gene- 
alogy of  David.  The  latter  seems  the  stronger  reason. 
Goethe  speaks  of  it  as  "The  loveliest  little  epic  and 
idyllic  whole  which  has  come  down  to  us." 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries :  Keil  and  Delitzsch  and  Lange.  Ryle, 
Cano?i  of  the  Old  Testame7tt,  pp.  115  and  132;  Stanley, 
Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  J ezvish  Church,  I.  336.  Intro- 
ductions of  Bleek,  Driver,  Keil.  Article  "Ruth,"  in 
Bible  Dictionaries  of  Smith  and  Hastings  and  xw  Ency- 
clopcedia  Britan?iica. 

LAMENTATIONS 

I.  Name 
In  our  Hebrew  Bible  it  is  called  Ekhah,  "Ah,  how!" 
from  the  fact  that  this  word  begins  three  of  the  five 
sections  into  which  the  book  is  divided.  In  the  Tal- 
mud, and  among  the  later  Jews  it  is  called  Qinoth, 
"Dirges,"  "Elegies."  In  the  Septuagint  it  is  called 
Threnoiy  in  the  Vulgate,  Lamentationes.  Hence  our 
English  Lamentations.  The  words  "Of  Jeremiah" 
are  added  to  the  title  in  the  Septuagint. 

II.    Position 

In  the  Hebrew  Bible  it  forms  the  third  of  the  five 
Megilloth  and  was  read  annually  on  the  ninth  day  of 


Tlic  Kcthubim  or  Writings  177 

the  month  Ab  (our  August),  the  day  observed  in  com- 
memoration of  the  destruction  of  the  Temple.  In  the 
Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate  it  follows  the  book  of 
Jeremiah  and  this  is  its  position  in  our  English  Bible. 
Bleek  thinks  that  in  the  Hebrew  Bible  it  originally 
stood  next  to  Jeremiah,  but  was  removed  to  its  pres- 
ent position  among  the  Megilloth  in  order  to  have 
them  all  in  one  place. 

III.    Contents 

The  book  consists  of  five  dirges,  having  the  same 
general  subject,  the  overthrow  of  the  kingdom  of 
Judah,  but  each  one  giving  expression  to  a  special 
phase  of  the  calamity.  In  the  third  the  nation  is  per- 
sonified in  the  person  of  the  writer. 

Dirge  i.  The  desolation  wrought  by  transgression. 
Ch    I. 

Dirge  2.  The  terrors  of  judgment  when  Jehovah 
appears.     Ch.  2. 

Dirge  3.  The  nation's  anguish  and  its  hope.     Ch.  3. 

Dirge  4.  The  sad  contrast  between  the  past  and  the 
present.     Ch.  4. 

Dirge  5.   The  confession  and  plea  for  help.     Ch.  5. 

The  nature  of  the  subject  allows  a  freedom  of  treat- 
ment which  would  not  be  expected  in  an  ordinary  com- 
position. 

IV.    Its  Structure 

The  mechanical  structure  demands  attention.  The 
first  four  of  the  five  dirges  are  acrostics,  each  verse 
beginning  with  a  letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  in  suc- 
cession. In  the  third  dirge  the  initial  letter  is  repeated 
three  times,  thus  giving  to  it  sixty-six  verses  while  the 


1 78    Outlines  of  an  hitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

others  have  only  twenty-two.  The  fifth  has  twenty- 
two  verses  but  they  lack  the  alphabetical  order.  In 
the  first  four  the  verses  are  longer  than  usual  and  are 
generally  marked  by  the  cacsural  pause,  which  divides 
the  line  into  a  longer  and  a  shorter  section,  the  second 
being  less  closely  allied  to  the  first  than  is  common  in 
Hebrew  poetry.      (i:i;  2:3.) 

As  a  specimen  of  elegiac  poetry  the  book  stands 
without  a  rival.  Its  characteristic  feature  is  the  irreg- 
ular formation  of  the  verse  lines.  The  peculiar  rhythm 
is  well  sustained  throughout.  As  it  dwells  upon  the 
details  of  the  misery  and  suffering,  laments  the  causes 
which  have  occasioned  it,  seeks  for  relief  in  the 
thought  of  God's  mercy  and  sees  a  gleam  of  hope  in 
the  abiding  faithfulness  of  Him  who  has  shown  His 
displeasure  by  visiting  them  in  judgment,  we  are 
reminded  of  Tennyson's  In  Memoriam.  The  nation 
has  fallen,  the  sorrow  is  unmeasured,  but  God  has  done 
it  and  through  repentance  His  favor  may  be  regained. 

The  book  is  plainly  the  product  of  art  as  well  as  the 
expression  of  grief,  but  the  art  gives  an  added  pathos 
to  the  grief,  since  it  brings  out  the  details  in  such  a 
way  as  to  lead  us  through  the  various  elements  of  the 
suffering  up  to  the  final  supplication  for  mercy  and  the 
relief  found  in  the  thought  of  a  covenant-keeping  God. 

V.   The  Author 

In  the  Septuagint  we  find  this  statement  in  the  way 
of  a  preface:  "And  it  came  to  pass,  after  Israel  was 
taken  captive  and  Jerusalem  devastated,  that  Jeremiah 
sat  weeping,  and  lamented  this  lamentation  over  Jeru- 
salem, and  said."  This  is  not  in  the  Hebrew  text,  but 
its  presence  in  the  first  translation  shows  that  the  idea 


The  KctJmbim  or  Writings  179 

that  Jeremiah  wrote  the  book  is  of  very  early  origin. 
The  Targum  repeats  the  assertion  and  Josephus, 
Aiitiq.^  X.  5,  I,  speaks  of  such  a  work  of  Jeremiah,  but 
says  it  referred  to  the  death  of  King  Josiah,  rather  than 
to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  This  statement 
seems  to  have  grown  out  of  the  assertion  made  in  2 
Chron.  35:25,  but  the  two  works  are  evidently  inde- 
pendent of  each  other.  That  Jeremiah  is  the  author  is 
inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  Septuagint  and  Syriac 
translations  have  placed  it  along  with  the  prophecies 
of  Jeremiah  and  added  to  the  title,  "Lamentations," 
the  words  "of  Jeremiah." 

The  same  tender,  reverent  spirit,  broken  yet  submis- 
sive because  the  punishment  was  deserved,  runs 
through  the  entire  poem  and  is  entirely  in  agreement 
with  Jeremiah  as  seen  in  his  prophecies. 

It  was  evidently  written  by  an  eye-witness  of  the 
disaster  and  one  able  to  appreciate  the  greatness  of  the 
destruction,  because  of  his  intimate  knowledge  of  all 
the  details  of  the  condition  of  both  city  and  people,  as 
Jeremiah  was. 

There  is  great  similarity  of  style  and  manner  of 
individual  expression  between  the  two  books,  such  as 
"Daughter  of  my  people,"  Lam.  2:11,  3:48,  4:10,  and 
Jer.  8:11,  14:17;  and  the  reference  to  tears  as  evidence 
of  grief,  Lam.  I:i6,  3:48,  and  Jer.  9:1,  14:17.  This 
similarity  extends  also  to  the  peculiar  words.  Lam.  3 :47 
and  Jer.  48:43. 

Later  critics  have  denied  both  the  unity  of  the  book 
and  the  authorship  of  Jeremiah,  claiming  that  the  fifth 
poem,  not  having  the  acrostic  arrangement,  and  the 
first  four,  not  being  constructed  alike,  call  for  differ- 
ent authorship,  as  if  such  technical  variations  could 


i8o     Outlines  of  a?i  Introdtictioti  to  the  Old  Testament 

not  be  the  work  of  one  man.  They  also  find  occa- 
sional expressions  which  do  not  seem  to  them  to  be 
suitable  to  Jeremiah,  while  some  words  found  in 
Lamentations  are  not  found  in  the  Prophecies.  They 
argue  also  that  a  writer  of  Jeremiah's  genius  would  not 
submit  himself  to  such  restraint  as  is  demanded  in  the 
acrostic  composition  of  the  Lamentations.  To  whicli 
we  may  reply  that  such  technicalities  are  often  resorted 
to  to  increase  the  power  of  a  poem,  and  further  it  is 
idle  to  attempt  to  define  the  limits  within  which  a 
writer  will  confine  himself  in  the  expression  of  his  ideas. 
Kautzsch,  The  Literature  of  the  Old  Testamejit,  p.  92, 
says,  "Lamentations  betrays  in  almost  every  part  so 
lively  a  recollection  of  the  closing  period  of  the  siege 
and  taking  of  Jerusalem,  that  at  least  the  greater  por- 
tion of  it  can  have  been  written  by  no  one  who  was  not 
an  eye-witness  or  a  younger  contemporary  of  these 
events."  And  Bleek  says,  bitroduction  to  the  Old  Testa- 
me?it,  IL  p.  102,  "The  traditional  view  that  Jeremiah 
was  the  author  of  these  songs  .  .  .  may  be  assumed  as 
certain." 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries  of  Keil,  Cheyne,  Plumptre  and  Hen- 
derson at  the  end  of  their  commentaries  on  Jeremiah. 
Introductions  of  Bleek,  Driver,  Keil,  and  article 
"Lamentations,"  in  Bible  Dictio7iaries  oi  Kitto,  Smith, 
Hastings,  and  same  article  in  Encyclopaedia  Brita?i?iica. 

ECCLESIASTES 
L    Name 
The   Hebrew  name  of  this  book  is  Qoheleth,  a  word 
of    doubtful    significance,    but   derived    from    a    root 


The  Kcthubim  or  Writings  i8i 

which  means  "to  call,"  "to  assemble."  This  would 
give  the  sense,  "One  who  assembles  the  people  for  the 
purpose  of  addressing  them."  Our  English  Bible, 
which  renders  it  "Ecclesiastes,  or  the  Preacher,"  is  a 
good  rendering  of  the  term.  The  feminine  of  the 
Hebrew  word  has  led  some  to  infer  that  it  is  a  sym- 
bolic name  for  an  assembly  called  for  consultation, 
when  the  title  would  refer  to  the  teaching  of  the  book 
rather  than  to  the  speaker.  Plumptre  {Com.  on 
Ecclesiastes)  would  translate  it  "Debater." 

II.    Position 

In  our  Hebrew  Bible  it  forms  the  fourth  among  the 
Megilloth  and  was  read  annually  on  the  feast  of  Taber- 
nacles. In  the  Septuagint  and  in  our  English  Bible  it 
is  placed  next  to  Proverbs,  because  it  was  ascribed  to 
the  same  author.  While  there  has  been  an  occasional 
voice  against  its  admission  to  the  Canon,  as  among  the 
Jews  of  the  second  century,  on  account  of  its  peculiar 
teaching,  it  has  never  been  seriously  questioned  by  the 
Christian  church. 

III.    Contents 

To  understand  the  book  we  must  cast  aside  the 
almost  innumerable  so  called  expositions,  which  have 
treated  it  as  a  most  grotesque,  undigested,  pessimistic 
and  sensual  production,  and  remember  that  it  is  a  poem 
embodying  a  conception  of  life  and  giving  a  con- 
clusion as  to  its  attainment.  We  must  read  it  as  a 
specimen  of  oriental  poetry,  remembering  the  ten- 
dency of  the  oriental  to  embody  his  thought  in  lan- 
guage which  seems  to  us  so  extravagant  as  to  become 
almost  untruthful. 


1 82    Outli?ies  of  an  I?itroductio?i  to  the  Old  Testament 

It  also  gives  us  one  of  the  most  serious  and  earnest 
efforts  to  attain  the  hig-hest  good  while  surrounded  by 
the  perplexities  of  life.  To  understand  it  we  must 
remember  that  the  oriental  does  not  reason  out  a  fixed 
proposition  as  we  do,  but  presents  facts  and  compares 
them  with  other  facts  often  seeming  to  have  no  rela- 
tion to  each  other,  and  we  must  put  ourselves  into  his 
methods  rather  than  ask  him  to  conform  to  ours,  if  we 
would  understand  him.  Its  key-note  is  not  "Vanity 
of  vanities,"  but  "Fear  God  and  keep  His  command- 
ments." 

The  following  outline,  condensed  from  Dr.  Gins- 
burg's  article  on  "Ecclesiastes"  in  i\\G  E?icyclop(sdia 
Britannica^  will  show  the  course  of  thought: 

Theme,  Searching  for  the  highest  good.     Ch.  i:i-ii. 

The  testing  of  knowledge.      1:12-18. 

The  testing  of  pleasure.     2:1-26. 

The  testing  of  stoicism.     3:1-22. 

The  testing  of  human  society.     4:1-16. 

The  testing  of  formalism.     5:1-20. 

The  testing  of  riches.     6:1-12. 

The  testing  of  human  foresight.     7:1  to  8:15. 

The  testing  of  firm  confidence  in  God.     8:16  to  12:7. 

Conclusion,  Fear  God  and  keep  His  commandments. 
12:8-14. 

The  idea  that  the  book  has  an  incipient  dramatic 
form,  in  which  a  youth  presents  his  exaggerated  views 
of  life  and  an  old  man  corrects  them,  or  that  it  is  a 
colloquy  between  Solomon  and  various  skeptics  of  his 
times,  has  been  favored  from  the  days  of  Jerome. 
Herder  finds  in  the  book  two  voices,  one  of  a  person 
looking  on  the  surface  of  life  and  reaching  the  most 
gloomy   conclusions,    which    find    expression    in    the 


The  KctJmbim  or  Writings  183 

words  "Vanity  of  vanities";  the  other  of  one  who  has 
learned  the  true  significance  of  life  and  the  benefits 
which  may  be  gained  by  its  varied  discipline,  whose 
conclusion  is  expressed  in  the  words  "Fear  God  and 
keep  His  commandments."  Tennyson's  Tivo  Voices 
is  a  modern  illustration  of  such  a  scheme. 

IV.    Authorship 

The  book  is  strictly  anonymous.  Jewish  tradition 
ascribed  it  to  Solomon  and  this  opinion  received  the 
almost  unanimous  support  of  the  early  church  and  still 
has  many  adherents. 

Among  the  arguments  favoring  this  view  the  follow- 
ing are  the  most  convincing: 

The  statement  in  1:1  seems  to  limit  it  to  Solomon, 
as  he  was  the  only  son  of  David  who  ever  reigned  over 
Israel  in  Jerusalem,  The  allusions  to  wisdom,  1:16-18, 
remind  us  of  what  is  said  in  Proverbs,  and  the  account 
of  his  gathering  riches  and  enjoying  honors  and  his 
experience  with  women,  7:26-28,  agree  well  with  what 
we  know  of  Solomon.  He  had  an  extensive  knowl- 
edge of  what  men  were  thinking  and  could  give  them 
advice  in  their  perplexities. 

But  many  serious,  even  insuperable  objections  com- 
pel us  to  deny  the  validity  of  these  arguments.  It  is 
almost  certain  that  Solomon  did  not  write  the  book. 
As  for  the  Jewish  tradition,  we  know  that  the  early 
Christian  church  accepted  Solomon  as  the  author 
because  the  Jewish  church  did  so,  but  the  Jewish  tradi- 
tion does  not  reach  further  back  than  seven  hundred 
years  after  Solomon's  death,  and  has  no  solid  histori- 
cal basis. 

As   for  the   seeming  reference  to   Solomon  in  such 


1 84    Oi(tli?ies  of  mi  hitrodiictioii  to  the  Old  Testament 

expressions  as  "son  of  David,"  "king  of  Jerusalem," 
l:i,  the  structure  of  the  book  shows  that  the  writer 
gathers  his  statements  around  Solomon  as  a  represent- 
ative man,  thereby  giving  the  force  of  a  concrete 
example  to  his  teachings,  without  intending  to  claim 
that  the  writer  was  himself  Solomon.  Evidence  of 
this  is  found  in  the  fact  that  much  of  the  picture  does 
not  apply  to  Solomon  and  his  times.  "I  was  king," 
1:1,  implies  that  he  was  not  king  when  the  writing  was 
produced.  Solomon  himself  would  hardly  write  such 
depreciative  statements  as  those  which  imply  discon- 
tent when  state  affairs  are  mentioned,  3:16,  5:8,  or 
degeneration,  4:1,  or  decay,  10:7. 

Especially  does  the  language  indicate  a  much  later 
period  than  that  of  Solomon.  It  has  many  features 
common  to  that  used  after  the  exile.  Delitzsch  men- 
tions over  one  hundred  words  found  in  this  book,  but 
not  elsewhere  in  the  Bible,  except  in  the  post-exilic 
literature.  He  thinks  it  was  written  last  of  all  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  numerous  Aramaic 
terms  point  clearly  to  such  an  origin.  Many  think 
they  can  trace  the  influence  of  Greek  philosophy  in 
the  book,  especially  that  of  the  Stoics  and  Epicureans. 
But  these  speculations  as  to  life  and  its  meaning  were 
not  peculiar  to  the  Greeks,  although  they  gave  much 
attention  to  them.  They  belong  to  the  world  and  may 
be  found  in  all  ages  and  among  all  men  who  have  tried 
to  solve  the  mystery  of  life.  The  absence  of  any 
Greek  words  or  objects,  while  those  of  Persian  origin 
are  frequent,  would  also  call  for  a  date  prior  to  the 
invasion  of  Greek  ideas. 

It  is  not  possible  then  to  fix  the  authorship  or  date 
of  the  book  except   in  the  most  general  way.     It  was 


The  Kcthubim  or  Writings  185 

written  before  the  Septuagint  translation  was  made  for 
it  is  included  in  that  work.  It  is  apparently  the  work 
of  one  familiar  with  Jewish  thought  after  the  exile, 
who  had  come  into  close  contact  with  the  life  and 
thought  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and 
before  the  Greek  philosophy  had  exerted  much  influ- 
ence on  Jewish  thought.  This  would  give  us  as  limits 
from  about  400  B.  C.  to  250  B.  C.  Delitzsch,  Ewald 
and  Driver  favor  about  332  B.  C.  Luther  thinks  it  was 
compiled  by  Sirach  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees. 

V.  The  Religious  Value  of  the  Book 

The  great  value  of  the  book  consists  in  the  fact  that 
it  refers  everything  to  the  ultimate  decision  of  God. 
In  this  life  there  is  no  true  test  of  character  which  may 
be  easily  applied  and  which  all  will  accept  as  final,  but 
when  a  man  appears  before  the  judgment  bar  of  God 
he  will  receive  a  righteous  judgment. 

The  book  is  ethical  not  dogmatic.  It  gives  us  ideas 
suggested  by  a  wide  experience  of  life,  with  a  keen 
penetration  into  its  hidden  meanings  and  a  firm  trust 
in  providence.  Its  oriental  intensity  of  expression 
confuses  our  more  subdued  manner  of  thought,  but  if 
one  will  translate  the  thought  and  not  the  expression 
into  the  language  of  our  own  times  he  will  be  surprised 
to  find  how  his  own  life  and  experiences  and  ideas  are 
mirrored  in  this  picture  drawn  so  long  ago. 

literature 

Commentaries:  Delitzsch,  Stuart,  Ginsburg,  Lange, 
Cox  in  Expositor' s  Bible,  and  Strong  in  Studejifs  Co7n- 
m,entary.  Stanley,  History  of  the  Jewish  Church,  II.  p. 
281;    Dillon,    The  Skeptics  of  the  Old  Testa?ne7it,  pp.  85 


1 86    Outlines  of  an  Introductio7i  to  the  Old  Testament 

and  239;  Cheyne,  Job  and  Solomon^  p.  199.  Introduc- 
tions of  Driver,  Bleek,  Keil.  Article  "Ecclesiastes" 
in  Bible  Dictionaries  of  Kitto,  Smith,  Hastings,  and  in 
Encyclopcedia  Britannica. 

ESTHER 

I.  Position 

In  the  Hebrew  Canon  the  book  of  Esther  forms  the 
fifth  of  the  Megilloth,  and  was  read  annually  during 
the  feast  of  Purim,  which  came  on  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  of  Adar,  our  March,  and  celebrated  the 
deliverance  of  the  Jews  in  Persia  from  the  plot  laid  for 
their  destruction  by  Haman.  In  our  English  Bible  it 
follows  Nehemiah  and  forms  the  conclusion  of  the 
historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Its  right  to  a  place  in  the  canon  was  long  disputed 
among  the  Jews,  but  afterward  it  was  held  in  honor 
second  only  to  the  Pentateuch.  Maimonides  said  that 
when  the  Messiah  came  the  only  Scriptures  would  be 
the  Law  and  Esther.  The  Christian  church  has  also 
been  divided  as  to  its  merits.  It  is  not  quoted  in  the 
New  Testament,  and  is  not  mentioned  in  many  cata- 
logues of  the  Old  Testament.  Many  critics,  in  all 
ages,  have  contested  its  right  to  be  in  the  canon. 
Luther  wished  the  book  had  never  been  written.  But 
there  is  no  good  reason  for  its  rejection.  It  is  found 
in  the  Hebrew  and  the  Septuagint,  and  most  critics 
agree  that  it  is  properly  inserted. 

II.  Contents 

Esther,  a  Jewish  maiden  of  the  captivity,  suddenly 
becomes    the    queen    of    Ahasuerus,    more    generally 


The  KctJiubim  or  Writiiigs  187 

known  as  Xerxes,  king  of  Persia,  and  there  learns  of  a 
plot  to  destroy  all  her  nation.  After  conferring  with 
her  foster-father,  Mordecai,  she  approaches  the  king, 
at  the  risk  of  her  life,  secures  the  downfall  and  death 
of  Haman  the  grand  vizier  of  the  king,  who  has 
plotted  the  destruction  of  her  people,  and  obtains  a 
decree  from  the  king  which  enables  them  to  defend 
themselves  on  the  day  fixed  for  their  death.  The  joy 
of  her  people  over  their  escape  results  in  the  feast  of 
Purim,  which  becomes  the  great  national  holiday  of 
the  Jews.  The  story  is  admirably  told  and  the  literary 
finish  of  the  narrative  equals  the  work  done  in  the 
golden  age  of  the  Jewish  literature. 

III.  Credibility 

Doubts  as  to  its  credibility  have  existed  from  the 
earliest  times. 

I.  Its  historical  character  has  been  assailed.  The 
difficulty  of  locating  Ahasuerus,  the  fact  that  according 
to  Persian  custom  the  king  was  limited  in  the  selection 
of  his  queen  to  certain  prominent  families  among  the 
nobility,  the  fact  that  eleven  months'  notice  was  given 
before  the  decree  was  carried  into  execution,  besides 
other  difficulties  of  less  value,  have  been  mentioned 
against  it. 

But  we  may  meet  these  by  saying  that  the  difficulty 
of  locating  Ahasuerus  is  now  removed,  since  all  are 
agreed  that  Ahasuerus  is  but  another  name  for  Xerxes, 
one  of  the  greatest  of  Persian  monarchs,  whose  char- 
acter well  agrees  with  the  facts  here  related.  So 
capricious  and  willful  a  king  might  easily  ignore  any 
restraints  thrown  around  his  marriage,  and  the  long 
notice  of  the  edict  is  accounted  for  when  we  remember 


1 88    Otitlijics  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

the  immense  size  of  the  kingdom  and  the  slow  methods 
of  communication  then  employed. 

It  is  also  admitted  that  those  statements  which  can 
be  verified  from  Persian  sources  agree  perfectly  with 
the  facts  as  narrated  in  the  Bible,  while  the  minute 
description  of  customs  and  localities  indicate  a 
thorough  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  writer,  so  that 
the  historical  character  of  his  narrative  stands  unim- 
peached  until  it  can  be  positively  proved  to  be  untrust- 
worthy. 

2.  It  has  also  been  objected  that  the  book,  while  pro- 
fessing to  be  a  part  of  Jewish  history,  has  almost  noth- 
ing of  a  Jewish  tone.  It  contains  no  allusion  to  Jewish 
history  outside  of  the  immediate  facts  involved,  no 
reference  to  religious  services,  even  the  name  of  God 
is  not  once  found  in  it. 

But  when  we  examine  the  character  of  the  book  and 
find  that  it  is  not  religious,  but  intended  simply  to 
explain  the  reason  for  the  celebration  of  a  feast  which 
was  secular  in  its  nature,  it  is  not  strange  that  the 
name  of  God  is  not  found  in  it.  There  is  no  virtue  in 
introducing  that  name  where  there  is  no  occasion  for 
it.  The  entire  book  is  pervaded  with  the  idea  of  God. 
Its  lack  of  Jewish  ideas  may  be  explained  when  we 
remember  that  it  relates  to  a  special  exigency,  a  single 
crisis  in  Jewish  history,  and  that  there  was  no  occasion 
to  enter  upon  a  discussion  of  themes  connected  with 
their  general  history. 

IV.   Date 

A  more  serious  difficulty  is  met  when  we  attempt  to 
fix  the  date  at  which  it  was  written. 

That  the  facts  refer  to  the  reign  of  Xerxes  is  now 


The  KctJuibim  or  Writings  189 

conceded.  His  reign  extended  from  485  to  465  B.  C, 
and  Esther  became  his  queen  in  the  seventh  year  of 
his  reign,  Ch.  2:16.  The  freshness  of  the  narrative 
inclines  one  to  the  idea  that  the  book  was  written  soon 
after  the  events  occurred.  But  the  tendency  now  is 
to  bring  it  down  to  the  early  years  of  the  Greek 
period,  332  B.  C.  For  this  no  sufficient  reason  can  be 
given.  The  writer  was  evidently  familiar  with  the 
Persian  records,  9:32,  10:2,  and  the  style  has  much  in 
common  with  that  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  but  with 
many  Persian  words.  Keil  fixes  upon  465-425  B.  C. 
Driver,  332  B.  C.  The  probabilities  favor  the  date 
given  by  Keil. 

V.  Author 

An  attempt,  based  on  Ch.  9:20,  32,  has  been  made 
to  trace  the  writing  to  Mordecai,  but  the  reference 
does  not  justify  it.  Among  the  Jews  it  was  sometimes 
ascribed  to  the  "Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue."  The 
most  that  can  be  said  is  that  it  was  written  by  a  Jew 
familiar  with  matters  at  the  Persian  court  and  with  the 
conditions  of  the  Jewish  people. 

VI.   Teachings 

1.  Its  manifest  aim  is  to  account  for  the  feast  of 
Purim.  Although  there  is  some  discussion  about  the 
origin  of  the  word  Purim  or  Pur,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  origin  of  the  festival  is  here  correctly 
given.  And  on  the  other  hand  the  existence  of  the 
festival  is  a  guarantee  of  the  accuracy  of  the  account 
here  given. 

2.  Much  has  been  said  as  to  the  morals  of  the  book, 
the  evident  determination  to  exalt  the  Jew,  and   the 


1 90    Outlifies  of  an  hitrodtiction  to  the  Old  Testament 

apparent  lack  of  moral  sentiment  pervading  it.  But 
the  book  must  be  judged,  not  by  our  standards,  but  by 
the  spirit  of  the  times  in  which  it  was  written.  The 
writer  simply  records  the  facts  without  any  expression 
of  opinion  in  regard  to  them. 

3.  The  book  certainly  teaches  a  grand  lesson  in 
regard  to  divine  providence.  The  author  did  not  evi- 
dently so  design  it,  but  the  facts  show  it.  In  their 
distress  God  kept  them  from  harm  and  gave  them  a 
triumphant  deliverance.  Such  a  lesson  is  worthy  of 
preservation. 

4.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Septuagint  adds  a  para- 
graph to  the  Hebrew  as  a  continuation  of  Ch.  10,  and 
to  this  the  Vulgate  adds  six  chapters  more.  But  these 
are  late  additions  so  different  in  style  and  sentiment 
that  the  Protestant  church  has  never  regarded  them  as 
a  part  of  the  inspired  record. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries :  Keil  and  Delitzsch,  Lange.  Introduc- 
tions of  Driver,  Keil,  Bleek.  Article  "Esther"  in  Bible 
Dictionaries  of  Smith  and  Hastings,  and  in  EncyclopcE- 
dia  Britannica, 

DANIEL 

I.  Name 
Daniel,  "God  is  my  judge."  The  book  receives  its 
name  from  its  chief  character,  who  is  also  probably  its 
author.  Daniel,  who  belonged  to  a  prominent  family  in 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  1:1-7,  was  taken  captive  by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar about  605  B.  C.  He  soon  rose  to  eminence  in 
the  service  of  the  king  and  his  successors,  Darius  and 
Cyrus.     Nothing  is  known   as  to  his  death,  although 


The  Ketlmbim  or  Writings  191 

according  to   Mohammedan   tradition   he   returned   to 
Judea  and  died  in  Susa,  where  his  tomb  is  still   shown. 

II.   Position 

In  our  Hebrew  Bible  Daniel  is  placed  between  Esther 
and  Ezra  in  the  third  division,  Kethubim,  which  is 
made  up  of  miscellaneous  writings,  and  not  as  we  might 
expect,  and  as  it  is  in  our  English  Bible,  in  the  second 
division,  among  the  Prophets.  Later  critics  have  used 
this  fact  as  an  important  link  in  their  argument  for  a 
late  origin  of  the  book.  But  it  admits  of  an  explana- 
tion which  leaves  the  question  of  date  untouched.  No 
book  was  placed  among  the  prophets  unless  the  writer 
belonged  to  the  prophetic  order,  a  distinct  class  having 
carefully  defined  limits.  Daniel  did  not  belong  to  this 
order  but  was  a  statesman  whose  religious  teaching  was 
not  his  principal  occupation.  He  does  not  tell  us,  as 
other  prophets  do,  of  his  divine  call,  but  in  the  midst 
of  his  duties  as  an  officer  of  the  state,  utters  the  truth 
which  God  has  enabled  him  to  see,  for  the  benefit  of 
his  distressed  countrymen. 

Again,  Daniel  lived  in  a  foreign  land  and  gave  his 
time  and  talents  to  a  foreign  king.  In  this  he  stands 
alone.  Ezekiel  indeed  prophesied  in  a  foreign  land 
but  his  time  was  wholly  given  to  his  fellow  captives 
whom  he  taught  and  for  whom  he  prophesied.  To  the 
Jew  this  would  mean  much. 

Again,  when  we  examine  the  book  of  Daniel  care- 
fully, we  see  that  it  is  largely  historical,  while  the  rest 
is  prophecy  of  a  very  peculiar  character.  It  is  a  series 
of  apocalyptic  visions  rather  than  an  utterance  of  truth 
suited  to  popular  edification  and  encouragement.  The 
theme  itself  is  outside   the  usual  course  of  prophecy. 


192     Outli?ies  of  a?i  Introdiictmi  to  the  Old  Testament 

It  does  not  tell  of  the  future  of  Israel  so  much  as  of 
the  overturning  of  the  nations  until  the  kingdom  of 
God  should  come.  Such  reasons  justify  the  assign- 
ment of  the  book  to  the  position  given  it  in  the  Hebrew 
Canon. 

III.   Contents 

Westcott  (Smith's  Bible  Dictionary)  divides  it  into 
three  parts:  (i)  Introduction.  Ch.  i.  (2)  A  general 
view  of  the  progressive  history  of  the  powers  of  the 
world  and  of  the  principles  of  the  divine  government 
as  seen  in  the  life  of  Daniel.  Chs.  2  to  7.  (3)  The 
fortunes  of  the  people  of  God  as  typical  of  the 
fortunes  of  the  church  in  all  ages      Chs.  8  to  12. 

But  a  more  natural  division  makes  two  sections. 

1.  History  of  Daniel.     Chs.  i  to  6. 

Daniel's  training.  Ch.  i.  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream 
and  its  interpretation.  Ch.  2.  Nebuchadnezzar's 
golden  image  and  its  worship.  Ch.  3.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's dream  and  madness.  Ch.  4.  Belshazzar's 
feast  and  the  fall  of  Babylon.  Ch.  5.  Daniel  in  the 
lion's  den.     Ch.  6. 

2.  Visions  seen  by  Daniel.     Chs.  7  to  12. 

Vision  of  the  four  beasts.  Ch.  7.  Vision  of  the  ram 
and  he  goat.  Ch.  8.  Vision  of  the  seventy  weeks. 
Ch.  9.   Vision  of  the  great  world  powers.    Chs.  10  to  12. 

Several  facts  are  worthy  of  mention  in  regard  to  this 
book. 

I.  The  record  is  not  continuous,  but  of  separate 
events  in  the  life  of  Daniel.  They  probably  stand  in 
chronological  order,  but  each  is  complete  in  itself.  In 
most  cases  there  is  no  connecting  word  when  passing 
from  one  theme  to  another. 


TJic  Kcthubim  or  Writings  193 

2.  Two  languages  are  used.  Chs.  i  to  2:4a  and  Chs. 
8  to  12  are  in  Hebrew,  while  Chs.  2:4b  to  7:28  are 
Aramaic.  A  parallel  to  this  is  found  in  Ezra.  Kamp- 
hausen  {Polychramc  Bible,  p.  16)  thinks  the  entire 
book  was  originally  written  in  Hebrew,  and  when  some 
portions  of  it  were  afterward  lost  they  were  supplied 
from  an  Aramaic  translation  made  by  the  author  of  the 
original  Hebrew.  This  explanation  creates  more  diffi- 
culties than  it  removes.  In  those  transition  times 
both  languages  would  be  readily  understood  by  all 
classes. 

3.  In  the  first  three  chapters  the  record  is  made  in 
the  third  person  as  might  be  expected  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  descriptive,  in  the  remainder  of  the  book 
the  first  person  is  employed  because  the  writer  is  him- 
self the  actor.  By  some  this  has  been  thought  to  con- 
flict with  the  unity  of  the  book,  and  it  has  been  divided 
among  many  authors,  Michaelis  making  eight  and 
Eichhorn  ten.  This  is  criticism  run  mad.  All  liter- 
ature, ancient  and  modern,  furnishes  similar  changes. 
The  unity  of  the  book  is  now  generally  conceded  even 
by  the  most  radical  school  of  criticism.  The  interre- 
lation of  the  two  parts  is  so  intimate  that  they  must  be 
referred  to  the  same  source. 

IV.   Origin 

Two  widely  different  opinions  are  held  in  regard  to 
its  origin.  According  to  the  traditional  view  it  was 
written  by  Daniel  himself  and  so  belongs  to  the  period 
of  captivity.  Many  modern  critics  hold  that  it  could 
not  have  been  written  before  300  B.  C.  and  in  all 
probability  not  until  168  B.  C. 

Driver  {IfUroduction  to  the  Old  Testament ,  p.  497)  pre- 


194    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

sents  the  argument  for  the  modern  view  under  three 
heads,  as  follows: 

I.  Historical.  As  difficulties  in  the  way  of  assign- 
ing the  authorship  to  Daniel  he  mentions  especially: 
The  position  of  the  book  in  the  Jewish  Canon;  the 
Chaldeans  are  made  synonymous  with  the  wise  men, 
a  use  of  the  term  not  found  until  after  the  close  of  the 
Babylonian  Empire;  Belshazzar  is  called  y^2>/^of  Baby- 
lon and  Nebuchadnezzar  is  represented  as  his  father, 
while  the  history  shows  that  Belshazzar  was  not  king 
neither  was  Nebuchadnezzar  his  father;  the  difficulty 
of  finding  a  place  for  Darius,  since  Cyrus  was  the 
immediate  successor  of  the  Persian  kings;  Daniel  9:2 
implies  that  a  collection  of  sacred  books  already 
existed,  whereas  the  first  collection  was  not  made  before 
536  B.  C. 

We  would  suggest — the  position  of  the  book  in  the 
Jewish  Canon  is  easily  explained  if  we  remember  the 
principles  established  by  them  for  determining  in 
which  division  of  the  canon  a  book  ought  to  be  placed. 
The  words,  "Chaldeans,"  "wise  men,"  "magicians" 
have  a  history  which  reaches  back  to  the  earliest  records; 
the  position  was  substantially  the  same  throughout, 
but  different  names  were  given  them,  a  fact  which  need 
occasion  little  trouble.  The  difficulty  in  regard  to  the 
royal  names  and  relations  is  being  gradually  solved 
and  each  advance  confirms  the  accuracy  of  Daniel. 
Nebuchadnezzar  was  associated  with  his  father  and 
according  to  a  common  form  of  speech  in  the  Bible 
was  called  king  when  in  reality  he  was  only  an  asso- 
ciate king.  (See  the  case  of  Jehoram,  2  Kings  8:16 
with  1:17,  and  Jotham,  2  Kings  15:5.)  From  his  official 
position    he   might   easily  be    called    the    king's    son. 


The  Kcthubim  or  Writings  195 

Price  {The  Momiments  arid  the  Old  Testament,  p.  245) 
tells  of  an  inscription  of  Shalmaneser  II.  which  speaks 
of  "Jehu  son  of  Omri,"  when  in  fact  Jehu  was  simply 
the  successor  of  Omri,  having  reached  the  throne 
through  the  murder  of  his  predecessor.  As  for  Darius, 
great  difficulty  still  surrounds  the  name;  but  if  Darius 
is  to  be  identified  with  Gobryas  or  Guvrau  of  the 
Inscriptions,  and  this  is  a  growing  conviction  of  the 
critics,  then  the  mystery  is  broken,  for  the  inscriptions 
tell  us  that  Gobryas  was  governor  of  Babylon. 
Whether  this  is  the  solution  or  not,  in  our  present 
state  of  ignorance  it  is  very  unsafe  to  argue  that 
because  we  cannot  clear  up  a  statement  it  must  there- 
fore be  false.  Let  us  wait  for  more  light.  The  allu- 
sion to  the  booksy  9:2,  furnishes  occasion  for  a  needless 
difficulty  if  we  assume  that  Daniel  here  refers  to  an 
official  collection,  such  as  the  Jews  afterward  had  in 
their  canon.  The  difficulty  disappears,  however,  if  we 
understand  that  Daniel  here  refers  to  the  writings  of 
Jeremiah  in  which  the  passage  is  found,  although  from 
Ezekiel  we  may  readily  infer  that  the  Jews  in  Babylon 
did  have  copies  of  their  sacred  books  which  were  care- 
fully studied,  even  if  not  yet  gathered  into  one 
volume. 

In  regard  to  all  these  historical  difficulties,  Driver 
himself  says,  "They  do  not  show  positively  that  the 
book  is  the  work  of  the  second  century  B.  C.;  they 
only  show  that  it  tends  to  reflect  the  traditions  and  his- 
torical impressions  of  an  age  considerably  later  than 
that  of  Daniel  himself." 

2.  Language.  He  finds  fifteen  Persian  words,  largely 
in  the  Aramaic  portion  of  the  book.  This  he  thinks 
is  strange  for  Daniel  who  lived  under  the  Babylonian 


196     Outlines  of  a?i  hitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

supremacy.  Some  of  them,  he  says,  are  official  and 
some  are  found  in  Ezra,  Nehemiah  and  Esther.  This 
latter  fact  would  seem  to  imply  an  earlier  origin  than 
the  theory  calls  for,  while  the  commercial  relations 
existing  between  the  two  countries  might  easily 
account  for  all  of  them.  He  finds  also  three  Greek 
words,  all  of  which  are  names  of  musical  instruments. 
Here  again  there  is  nothing  so  strange  in  the  Baby- 
lonians importing  musical  instruments  from  Greece, 
where  the  art  of  music  was  highly  developed.  It  was 
nothing  uncommon  to  employ  slaves  brought  from 
foreign  countries  to  sing  their  native  songs,  accom- 
panied with  their  native  instruments.  So  they  did 
with  the  Jews  in  Babylon,  Ps.  137.  He  also  thinks 
the  Aramaic  and  Hebrew  are  of  a  late  period,  although 
he  admits  the  Aramaic  "is  all  but  identical  with  that 
of  Ezra."  But  on  the  other  hand,  Westcott,  whose 
scholarship  is  unquestioned,  says,  "The  character  of 
the  Hebrew  (of  Daniel)  bears  the  closest  affinity  to 
that  of  Ezekiel  and  Habakkuk."  "The  Aramaic,  like 
that  of  Ezra,  is  also  of  an  earlier  form."  Other  schol- 
ars hold  the  same  opinion.  Dr.  Cheyne  says  that  from 
the  Hebrew  of  the  book  of  Daniel  no  important 
inference  can  be  drawn. 

3.  Theology.  Driver  tells  us  that  in  Daniel  "the  doc- 
trines of  the  Messiah,  of  angels,  of  the  resurrection  and 
of  a  judgment  on  the  world  are  taught  with  greater  dis- 
tinctness and  in  a  more  developed  form  than  else- 
where in  the  Old  Testament."  In  other  words,  the 
time  of  Daniel  was  too  early  for  such  clear  teaching 
on  these  cardinal  doctrines.  This,  and  the  kindred 
idea  that  the  prophetical  teachings  of  the  book  are  too 
minute    for   a   person    to   detail    so    long   before    the 


TJie  Kcthubijn  or  Writings  197 

events  happened,  form  the  most  serious  objection  to 
assigning  the  work  to  Daniel.  Assuming  that  the 
minute  predictions  found  in  Ch.  11  refer  to  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  they  think  it  strange  that  they  should  have 
been  made  by  one  who  lived  nearly  four  hundred  years 
before.  This  conflicts  with  their  theory  that  God 
never  inspires  a  man  to  prophesy  in  regard  to  events 
so  far  in  the  future  and  concerning  which  there  are  no 
intimations  of  His  purpose  in  the  conditions  surround- 
ing the  prophet.  But  such  a  limitation  of  the  pro- 
phetic office  we  can  by  no  means  admit.  God  reveals 
His  purposes  when  and  as  He  pleases  and  we  must 
not  limit  Him  by  our  ideas  of  fitness.  When  we  set 
up  a  standard  of  criticism  to  which  a  book  will  not  con- 
form, it  is  well  that  we  inquire  whether  there  is  not 
something  wrong  with  our  standard,  before  we  con- 
demn the  book. 

The  arguments  in  favor  of  assigning  the  book 
directly  to  Daniel  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

External  Arguments 

1.  The  book  has  had  a  place  in  the  Jewish  Canon  as 
far  back  as  the  records  go.  Its  canonicity  was  not 
called  in  question  by  the  Great  Synagogue.  And  no 
book  having  so  late  an  origin  as  that  claimed  for 
Daniel  by  the  later  critics  could  possibly  have  found 
admission.  Long  before  the  date  assumed  the  Jews 
understood  that  the  prophetical  office  was  vacant  and 
would  not  put  any  other  works  on  a  level  with  their 
sacred  Scriptures.  On  this  point  Josephus  voices  the 
universal  judgment  of  the  Jews.      (Agai?ist  Apion,  I.  8.) 

2.  It  has  also  a  place  in  the  earliest  version  of  the 
Scriptures,  the  Septuagint,  about  250  B.  C,  and  must 


1 98    Otitlines  of  an  hitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

have  been  in  existence  long  enough  before  that  date  to 
have  secured  its  place  as  a  part  of  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures. 

3.  The  references  in  Ezekiel  14:14,  20  and  28:3  prove 
the  historical  character  of  Daniel  and  show  that  it  was 
such  as  we  might  expect  for  the  author  of  this  book. 
In  Zech,  i:i8,  19  and  6:1  the  form  of  the  prophecy 
suggests  knowledge  of  the  form  in  which  Daniel  had 
clothed  his  prophecy,  both  passages  receiving  much 
light  from  the  use  of  the  figures  in  Daniel. 

4.  In  the  apochryphal  books,  especially  I  Macca- 
bees, whose  historical  character  is  well  attested,  evi- 
dent allusion  is  made  to  Daniel.  If  we  compare  i 
Mac.  1:54,  59  with  Dan.  11:31,  or  I  Mac.  2:59,  60  with 
Dan.  Ch.  3,  it  is  impossible  to  resist  the  impression 
that  the  statements  of  the  apochryphal  book  depend 
on  the  writer's  acquaintance  with  the  book  of  Daniel. 

5.  Josephus  also,  whose  general  accuracy  must  be 
recognized,  even  when  we  reject  many  of  his  embel- 
lishments, has  in  his  A?itiq.  X.  1 1,  7  and  XI.  8,  5  made 
such  allusions  to  Daniel  and  his  book  that  its  exist- 
ence is  plainly  demanded,  and  if  the  facts  are  as 
there  stated  its  early  date  is  beyond  question. 

6.  In  the  early  Christian  church  it  was  received  with- 
out question,  except  in  a  single  instance.  Porphyry 
objected  to  the  authorship  of  Daniel  because  he 
thought  such  minute  knowledge  of  events  so  far  in 
the  future  could  not  be  possible.  But  an  objection 
growing  out  of  a  doctrinal  position  ought  to  have  little 
weight  when  considering  such  a  question. 

7.  The  use  made  of  the  book  by  Christ  ought  to  set- 
tle the  question.  One  cannot  read  passages  like  Matt. 
24:  15,   16,    where  Christ  expressly  quotes  Daniel  in 


The  Kethubim  or  lVriti?igs  199 

regard  to  the  coming  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  without 
feeling  that  Christ  based  His  use  of  the  reference  on 
the  fact  of  its  historical  character,  and  expected  its  ful- 
fillment because  it  was  a  genuine  prophecy.  The 
attempt  to  evade  the  force  of  this  use  of  this  passage 
must  be  either  to  impugn  the  judgment  of  Christ  or 
deprive  the  words  of  any  real  value. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  historical  succession  of  testi- 
mony for  the  genuineness  of  Daniel  is  even  more  com- 
plete than  that  of  many  other  books  of  the  Bible. 
There  is  no  way  to  reduce  the  force  of  such  testimony 
but  by  disputing  the  accuracy  of  the  witnesses,  a  thing 
hard  to  do. 

The  Internal  Evidence 

1.  The  book  certainly  professes  to  be  historical.  It 
has  an  abundance  of  historical  references,  as  if  inviting 
testing,  and  if  our  knowledge  were  more  complete  the 
difficulties  which  now  trouble  us  would  doubtless 
quickly  vanish  away.  We  note  such  direct  statements 
as  1:1,  2:1,  7:1,  8:1,  2,  9:1. 

2.  The  writer  seems  to  be  recording  his  own  per- 
sonal experience.  (7:2,  10:3,  10:1 1.)  If  we  say  that  all 
such  expressions  are  intended  merely  for  effect  we 
destroy  the  value  of  the  entire  book. 

3.  The  writer  displays  a  very  intimate  acquaintance 
with  Babylonian  customs  and  history,  while  he  has 
little  to  say  concerning  the  Persian  period  and  still 
less  concerning  the  Greek  period  which  followed. 
This  is  just  what  we  would  expect  in  a  writer  of  the 
time  of  Daniel,  while  just  the  reverse  would  be  likely 
to  be  found  in  a  writer  living  as  late  as  many  critics 
now  claim. 


200    Outlines  of  an  Introdiictio7i  to  the  Old  Testament 

4.  The  language  employed  is  a  strong  point  in 
favor  of  Daniel.  The  intimate  familiarity  with  both 
the  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  is  precisely  what  we  would 
expect  from  a  man  whose  mother  tongue  was  Hebrew, 
but  who  had  a  life-long  familiarity  with  the  Aramaic. 
Moreover,  in  regard  to  both  Hebrew  and  Aramaic,  the 
testimony  of  competent  scholars  is  that  both  bear  a 
strong  likeness  to  the  language  used  by  Ezekiel  and 
Ezra,  contemporaries  of  Daniel,  while  neither  of  them 
has  the  verbal  peculiarities  of  which  those  languages 
partook  as  late  as  168  B.  C.  when  the  Aramaic  had 
superseded  the  Hebrew  in  the  daily  use  of  the  people. 

V.   Design 

It  is  primarily  neither  prophetic  nor  historic.  It  is 
designed  rather  to  show  how  God  cares  for  His  people 
even  when  everything  seems  against  them,  with  their 
temple  destroyed,  their  nation  scattered  and  the  severe 
burdens  of  slavery  resting  upon  the  nation. 

Especially  great  is  the  value  of  the  book  in  its  treat- 
ment of  the  idea  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  its  rela- 
tion to  the  kingdoms  of  this  world.  It  tells,  in 
plainer  language  than  had  been  used  before,  of  the 
subjection  of  the  world  to  God,  and  indicates  clearly 
the  evidence  of  the  divine  rule,  and  assures  us  that 
the  progress  of  God's  kingdom  is  absolutely  irresist- 
ible and  that  all  things  will  be  ultimately  brought  into 
submission  to  God. 

Its  apocalyptic  form  has  added  immensely  to  its 
power.  It  has  given  tone  to  much  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment literature,  it  has  engaged  the  attention  of  many 
who  have  been  drawn  to  it  by  its  peculiar  methods  of 
expression,  it  has  been  the  inspiration  of  the  persecuted 


The  Kcthubim  or  IVritrngs  201 

and  the  burdened  in  all  ages.  Terry  well  says  {Mcth. 
Rev.,  Jan.,  1902,  p.  128),  "Whether  written  during  the 
exile  or  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  they  contain  a 
picture  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  their  ulti- 
mate subjection  to  the  kingdom  of  God  worthy  of  rank 
with  any  prophecies  to  be  found  in  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures. Nowhere  else  do  we  find  before  the  advent  of 
Christ  such  a  magnificent  conception  of  the  kingdom 
of  Heaven." 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries:  Driver  in  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools ; 
Lange;  Barnes;  Hengstenberg;  Kamphausen  in  5<?<:r^^ 
Books  of  the  Old  Testament;  Pusey,  Daniel  the  Prophet. 
Price,  The  Monuments  and  the  Old  Testa)}ient ;  Bosca- 
wen.  The  Bible  and  the  Monnments ;  Margoliouth,  Lines 
of  Defense  of  the  Biblical  Revelatio?i ;  Ke  n  n  edy ,  The  Book 
of  Daniel.  Introductions  of  Driver,  Keil,  Bleek. 
Article  on  "Daniel,"  in  Bible  Dictio7iaries  of  Smith  and 
Hastings,  and  in  EncyclopcBdia  Britannica. 

EZRA  AND  NEHEMIAH 

I.  Name  and  Position 
In  the  oldest  Jewish  writings  these  two  books  are 
treated  as  one,  although  that  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  one  author  wrote  both  books,  any  more  than  when 
the  Twelve  Minor  Prophets  are  reckoned  as  one  they 
were  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  one  man.  It 
rather  indicates  the  intimate  relation  existing  between 
the  contents  of  both  books,  the  narrative  begun  in  one 
being  continued  in  the  other.  In  all  printed  Hebrew 
Bibles,  as  well  as  in  the  Septuagint  and  other  versions, 
they  are  now  divided. 


202     Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

In  the  Hebrew  Bible  they  precede  Chronicles 
although  they  follow  it  in  the  order  of  time.  In  the 
Septuagint  and  other  versions  they  follow  Chronicles 
and  thus  preserve  the  historical  succession. 

II.  Their  Relation  to  Each  Other  and  to 
Chronicles 

The  history  begun  in  Chronicles  is  continued  in 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  bringing  it  down  to  432  B.  C. 
How  intimate  the  relation  between  Chronicles  and 
Ezra  is  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  closing  words 
of  Chronicles  are  repeated  as  the  opening  words  of 
Ezra.  The  three  books  present  similar  problems  of 
criticism,  they  have  a  strong  literary  affinity,  they 
view  the  history  from  the  same  standpoint  and  they 
seem  to  have  been  put  into  their  present  form  by  the 
same  editor.  And  inasmuch  as  Ezra  and  Nehemiah 
cover  the  history  after  the  return  from  Babylon  and 
both  men  were  interested  in  the  same  great  enterprises 
of  reform  it  will  be  most  convenient  to  study  them 
together. 

III.  Contents 

The  period  covered  by  both  books  is  from  536,  when 
Cyrus  issued  his  edict  permitting  the  Jews  to  return  to 
Palestine,  to  432,  when  Nehemiah  made  his  second 
visit  to  Jerusalem,  a  period  of  about  one  hundred 
years.  The  books  do  not  give  a  continuous  history  of 
this  period  but  dwell  quite  fully  on  those  features 
which  concern  the  religious  welfare  of  the  nation. 

The  contents  of  the  books  are  as  follows: 

I.  The  first  colony  and  its  work,  536-515  B.  C.  Ezra 
Chs.  I  to  6.  After  presenting  the  edict  of  Cyrus  per- 
mitting the  return,  Ch.  I,  a  list  of  those  who  accepted 


TJic  Kcthnbim  or  Writings  203 

it  and  of  their  offerings  for  the  house  of  God  is  given, 
Ch.  2;  then  follows  the  account  of  the  setting  up  of 
an  altar,  Ch.  3;  with  a  statement  of  the  difficulties  they 
encountered,  Chs.  4,  5;  which  finally  resulted  in  stop- 
ping the  work  until  a  new  decree  was  issued  by  Darius 
and  the  Temple  finished  in  515,  Ch.  6.  Then  follows 
a  space  of  fifty- seven  years  during  which  no  record  of 
events  is  given. 

2.  The  second  colony,  under  Ezra,  458  B.  C.  Ezra 
Chs.  7  to  10.  Here  we  have  the  genealogy  of  Ezra, 
his  commission  from  Artaxerxes,  Ch.  7;  his  securing 
Levites  for  the  house  of  God  and  his  care  of  the  offer- 
ings entrusted  to  him,  Ch.  8.  Having  reached  Jeru- 
salem, after  a  journey  of  four  months,  he  finds  great 
scandal  growing  out  of  the  marriage  of  Jews  with 
heathen  women,  for  which  he  makes  confession  before 
God,  Ch.  9.  Amendment  is  promised  and  a  record 
made  of  those  who  had  offended  but  promised  to 
reform,  Ch.  10.  The  prophets  Zechariah  and  Haggai 
helped  Ezra  very  much  in  this  reform.  Here  occurs 
another  break  of  thirteen  years. 

3.  The  work  of  Nehemiah,  444-432  B.  C.  Three 
lines  of  activity  are  prominent. 

(i)  The  repairing  of  the  walls.  Neh.  Chs.  i  to  7. 
Nehemiah,  having  heard  of  the  deplorable  condition 
of  the  people  in  Jerusalem,  Ch.  i;  asks  permission  to 
visit  them,  and  on  his  arrival  at  once  begins  to  repair 
the  city  walls,  Ch.  2.  The  names  of  his  helpers  are 
recorded,  Ch.  3;  and  the  opposition  he  encounters 
stated,  Ch.  4.  He  seeks  to  relieve  the  poverty  of  the 
poor,  Ch.  5;  and  in  the  face  of  continued  opposition 
completes  the  wall,  Ch.  6.  A  register  is  made  of  those 
who  composed  the  first  colony,  Ch.  7. 


204    Outlines  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

(2)  The  covenant  renewed.  Chs.  8  to  12:26.  The 
Law  is  read  and  expounded  by  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, 
assisted  by  the  Levites,  amid  great  rejoicing,  Ch. 
8:1-12.  This  is  followed  by  a  celebration  of  the  feast 
of  tabernacles,  Ch.  8:13-18;  and  a  fast  day,  accom- 
panied by  prayer  and  confession,  is  followed  by  a 
solemn  renewal  of  the  covenant  with  Jehovah,  Ch.  9. 
The  names  of  those  entering  into  this  covenant  are 
given  in  Ch.  10.  Provision  is  made  to  secure  people 
to  occupy  the  city,  with  a  catalogue  of  their  names, 
Ch.  II.  A  list  is  given  of  the  priests  and  Levites  who 
accompaniedZerubbabel  in  the  first  colony,  Ch.  12:1-11; 
and  of  those  who  went  later,  Ch.  12:12-26. 

(3)  Dedication  of  the  walls  and  final  efforts.  Ch. 
12:27  to  Ch.  13. 

The  rebuilt  walls  are  solemnly  dedicated,  Ch. 
12:27-44;  and  officers  appointed  to  attend  to  public 
affairs,  Ch.  12:45-47.  After  spending  some  time 
(twelve  years)  in  Babylon  he  returns  to  Jerusalem  and 
corrects  various  abuses,  such  as  separation  of  foreign- 
ers, cleansing  the  Temple  chambers  which  had  been 
defiled,  neglect  of  tithes,  violation  of  the  Sabbath  and 
marriage  with  heathen.     Ch.  13. 

IV.   Peculiarities  of  Structure 

1.  Ezra  Chs.  4:8  to  6:18  and  7:12-26  are  written  in 
Aramaic;  the  rest  of  Ezra  and  all  of  Nehemiah  are  in 
Hebrew.  We  find  a  similar  use  of  the  two  languages 
in  Daniel.  This  Aramaic  is  to  be  distinguished  from 
the  Chaldaic.  It  is  a  dialect  closely  akin  to  the 
Hebrew,  used  by  the  Jews  after  the  exile. 

2.  Certain  parts  of  both  books  are  written  in  the 
first   person,  Ezra  7:27,  9:15,  Neh.  1:1,  7:1,  12:31.      In 


TJic  KctJnibim  or  Writmgs  205 

other  parts  we  find  the  third  person  employed.     This 
is  thought  by  many  to  show  the  work  of  an  editor, 

3.  Many  parts  of  both  books  are  plainly  compiled 
from  official  records,  such  as  the  proclamation  of 
Cyrus,  Ezra  Ch.  i;  the  register  of  those  composing  the 
first  colony,  Ch.  2;  the  letter  to  Artaxerxes  and  the 
reply  to  it,  Chs.  4:11-16,  17-22;  the  decree  of 
Darius  Ch.  6:3-12;  the  letter  which  Artaxerxes  gave 
Ezra,  Ch.  7:11-26.  In  Nehemiah  we  have  the  list  of 
those  who  builded  on  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  Ch.  3; 
the  roll  of  the  first  colony,  Ch.  7:6-73,  which  is  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  that  found  in  Ezra  Ch.  2;  the 
roll  of  those  who  signed  the  covenant,  Ch.  10:1-27;  and 
of  those  called  to  dwell  in  Jerusalem,  Ch.  11:3-36;  and 
a  list  of  priests  and  Levites,  Ch.  12.  These  may  be 
easily  separated  from  the  narrative  portions  and  show 
that  the  writers  of  both  books  not  only  consulted  the 
official  documents,  but  actually  copied  them  without 
changing  the  language,  thus  furnishing  the  best  pos- 
sible guarantee  of  their  fidelity. 

V.  Authorship 

The  composite  character  of  both  books  renders  the 
question  of  authorship  quite  uncertain.  The  Jewish 
claim  thai:  Ezra  wrote  both  books,  as  also  Chronicles 
and  Esther,  has  no  solid  foundation.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  Ezra  wrote  the  second  section  of  his 
book,  Chs.  7  to  10.  The  facts  that  the  narrative  is  in 
the  first  person  and  that  it  records  Ezra's  own  work  in 
Jerusalem  point  unmistakably  to  him  as  the  author. 
The  first  section,  Chs.  I  to  6,  contains  a  collection  of 
documents  intended  to  explain  the  condition  of  things 
in  Jerusalem  when  Ezra  first  went  there,  but  whether  this 


2o6    Outlines  of  an  httroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

was  prepared  from  older  documents  by  Ezra  himself, 
or  is  the  work  of  a  later  writer  who  compiled  the  entire 
history  now  divided  into  the  three  books  of  Chron- 
icles, Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  is  an  open  question.  Bleek 
(Ifitro.  to  Old  Test,  I.  425)  says,  "When  Ezra  is  spoken 
of  in  the  third  person,  as  in  the  whole  tenth  chapter, 
and  also  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventh,  we  cannot  on 
that  account  assume  with  any  degree  of  certainty  that 
Ezra  himself  did  not  write  it."  And  while  he  sees  a 
remodeling  by  a  later  hand  in  some  phrases  of  the  first 
section,  he  thinks  that  section  came  substantially  from 
Ezra's  own  hand,  and  if  any  changes  were  made  they 
were  made  in  Ezra's  own  time.  Many  now  believe 
that  the  book,  as  it  now  stands,  shows  the  work  of  an 
editor  who  used  the  writings  of  Ezra  together  with 
material  gathered  from  the  state  archives  and  other 
sources,  and  prepared  the  book  as  it  now  stands. 

As  for  Nehemiah  the  matter  is  not  so  easily  settled. 
The  narrative  up  to  Ch.  7:6  is  all  in  the  first  person 
and  the  writer  of  it  can  be  no  other  than  Nehemiah 
himself.  Again,  from  12:31  to  the  end  of  the  book  we 
have  the  narrative  in  the  first  person,  and  plainly  for 
the  same  reason.  This  leaves  the  section  extending 
from  7:6  to  12:30  for  examination.  The  passage  7:6-73 
we  find  to  be  substantially  identical  with  Ezra  2:1-70, 
and  in  both  places  is  simply  an  extract  from  public 
records.  This  is  followed  by  a  section,  8:1  to  11:2, 
which  tells  of  a  public  reading  of  the  Law  and  of  the 
results  which  followed.  Its  peculiarities  are  that 
Nehemiah  does  not  here  speak  in  the  first  person,  that 
Ezra  occupies  the  principal  position  and  that  the 
prayer  in  Nehemiah  nine  is  quite  different  in  con- 
struction from  that  found  in   chapter  one  of  his  book 


TJic  Kcthubim  or  WriWigs  207 

and  is  more  like  those  of  Ezra.  Hence  many  infer 
that  Ezra  wrote  this  section.  But  on  the  other  hand 
Nehemiah  is  represented  as  assisting  in  the  teaching, 
while  the  minute  details  of  the  entire  transaction  indi- 
cate that  the  record  was  made  by  an  eye-witness,  who 
certainly  might  have  been  Nehemiah.  In  Neh.  12:26 
both  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  are  referred  to  in  language 
which  seems  to  imply  that  they  were  either  dead  or 
had  departed  from  Jerusalem  before  the  passage  was 
written,  and  in  Neh.  12:10,  1 1  the  genealogy  of  the 
priests  is  brought  down  to  Jaddua,  who,  according  to 
Josephus,  A?itiq,^  XL  8,  4,  was  officiating  as  high  priest 
when  Alexander  the  Great  vdsited  Jerusalem,  in  331 
B.  C. ;  and  further,  in  Neh.  12:22  Darius  is  called  "the 
Persian,"  implying  that  the  Persian  kingdom  had 
already  been  broken  up,  since  the  ordinary  form  of 
alluding  to  their  kings  is  to  add  only  the  words  "the 
king,"  Ezra  4:8;  Neh.  11:23.  But  for  both  usages,  see 
Ezra  1:7  and  1:8.  If  Neh.  12:22  refers,  as  many  think, 
to  Darius  Codomannus,  336-332  B.  C,  we  are  brought 
down  to  a  date  much  later  than  that  of  Nehemiah,  and 
we  must  admit  either  that  our  present  book  has  been 
revised  and  supplemented  by  an  editor,  or  reject  these 
references  as  the  unauthorized  effort  of  some  one  to 
give  completeness  to  the  record  originally  made  by 
Nehemiah.  If,  as  others  claim,  the  reference  is  to 
Darius  Nothus,  424-405  B.  C,  the  difficulty  van- 
ishes. 

On  the  whole  the  most  satisfactory  conclusion  is 
that  both  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  as  they  now  stand,  have 
passed  through  the  hands  of  an  editor,  who  has  taken 
materials  left  by  these  great  men,  with  some  facts 
subsequent  to  their  time  and  used  them  as  a  continua- 


2o8    Outliiics  of  a?i  hitroductio7i  to  the  Old  Testament 

tion  of  the  history  of  the  nation,  begun  in  the  book  of 
Chronicles. 

VI.  Value  of  These  Books 

These  books  furnish  us  with  most  valuable  informa- 
tion concerning  the  new  life  of  the  nation  after  the 
captivity.  We  learn  of  the  desolate  condition  of  Jeru- 
salem; of  their  social  relations;  of  their  judicial  mat- 
ters; of  their  revived  interest  in  the  Scriptures, 
especially  in  ritual  services;  of  the  presence  of  two 
great  parties,  one  very  strict  in  legal  matters,  the  other 
anxious  to  mingle  with  the  surrounding  nations;  of  the 
daily  life  of  the  people  and  many  other  facts  concern- 
ing which  we  have  no  other  source  of  information. 

LITERATURE 

Comme?itaries :  Keil,  Lange,  Ryle  in  Cambridge  Bible 
for  Schools.  Kautzsch,  The  Literature  of  the  Old  Testa- 
me?it;  Rawlinson,  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  Their  Lives 
and  Times.  Introductions  of  Driver,  Bleek,  Keil. 
Articles  in  Bible  Dictionaries  of  Smith  and  Hastings 
and  in  Encyclopcedia  Britannic  a.  For  a  study  of  the 
composition  of  Ezra,  see  Presbyterian  and  Reformed 
Review,  1900,  p.  261. 

CHRONICLES 

I.  Name 
I.  The  Hebrew  name  is  Divre  hayyamim,  "Events  of 
Days,"  or  "Annals  of  the  Times,"  a  term  found  fre- 
quently in  Samuel  and  Kings,  2  Kings  14:18.  The 
Septuagint  introduced  the  title  ta  paraleipome?ia, 
"Things  omitted,"  as  if  the  book  was  intended  to  sup- 
ply the  defects  of  the  earlier  historical  records.     This 


The  KctJnibim  or  Writings  209 

is  such  an  inadequate  name  that  Jerome  called  it  a 
Chronicle,  which  adequately  renders  the  Hebrew 
name  and  has  been  generally  adopted  in  the  later  ver- 
sions. 

2.  Like  Samuel  and  Kings,  Chronicles  originally 
formed  but  one  book  in  the  Hebrew,  the  division  hav- 
ing been  made  first  in  the  Septuagint  and  continued 
to  the  present  time,  even  our  printed  Hebrew  Bibles 
now  making  it.  There  is  no  good  reason  for  the  divi- 
sion. 

n.     Position  in  the  Canon 

Chronicles  does  not  stand  in  the  Hebrew  Bible  with 
the  other  historical  books,  but  in  the  third  division, 
which  includes  works  of  a  miscellaneous  character. 
Some  have  argued  that  this  is  because  of  its  very  late 
origin,  or  because  it  was  less  directly  inspired  than  the 
older  writings.  A  much  better  reason  is  that  the  Jews 
did  not  regard  the  writer  as  a  prophet,  and  so  did  not 
include  it  among  the  prophetical  writings,  while  they 
regarded  it  as  of  equal  value  with  the  other  inspired 
books. 

Its  place  in  the  third  division  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  is 
not  uniform.  The  Masoretic  writers  placed  it  first 
among  the  books  of  this  division,  while  in  our  printed 
Hebrew  Bibles  it  is  the  last.  The  Septuagint  placed 
it  next  to  Kings  so  as  to  bring  all  the  historical  books 
together,  and  our  English  version  follows  this  order. 

HI.  Contents 

While  the  unity  of  the  book  is  so  manifest  as  to 
render  proof  of  the  fact  needless,  there  are  well-defined 
sections  which  show  how  steadily  the  writer  kept  his 


210    Ontliiies  of  an  Introductioii  to  the  Old  Testament 

purpose  before  him.  The  book  begins  with  Adam  and 
surveys  the  history  to  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  under 
Cyrus. 

It  may  be  divided  into  four  sections: 

1.  The  first  section,  i  Chron.  Chs.  i  to  9,  gives  a 
genealogical  record  of  the  nation  down  to  the  advent 
of  David  as  king.  This  is  varied  occasionally  by  a 
brief  geographical  or  other  explanatory  note,  I  Chron. 
6:49,  the  purpose  of  the  writer  being  to  lead  the  reader 
to  his  theme  as  illustrated  in  the  history  of  Judah,  the 
northern  kingdom  not  passing  under  review. 

2.  The  second  section,  I  Chron.  Chs.  10-29,  relates 
the  history  of  David  from  the  time  of  Saul's  death  to 
the  end  of  his  reign.  In  this  the  special  design  of  the 
writer  reveals  itself,  for  he  does  not  dwell  upon  his 
civil  administration  or  tell  of  his  personal  character 
as  fully  as  do  Samuel  and  Kings,  although  he  has 
much  in  common  with  them,  but  enters  with  great 
minuteness  of  detail  upon  his  devotion  to  the  religious 
welfare  of  the  people,  as  seen  in  his  care  of  the  ark, 
I  Chron.  Chs.  13-16;  his  preparation  for  building  the 
Temple,  i  Chron.  Ch.  22;  and  his  careful  arrangements 
for  the  conduct  of  its  service,  i  Chron.  Chs.  23-29. 

3.  The  third  section,  2  Chron.  Chs.  1-9,  tells  of 
Solomon,  the  writer  limiting  himself  almost  entirely  to 
his  choice  of  wisdom,  Ch.  i;  his  building  and  dedica- 
ting the  Temple,  Chs.  2-7;  and  other  public  works, 
Ch.  8;  [_his  wisdom  and  wealth,  Ch.  9. 

4.  The  remainder  of  the  work,  2  Chron.  Chs.  10-36, 
tells  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  after  a  brief  state- 
ment in  regard  to  the  separation  of  the  two  kingdoms 
upon  the  death  of  Solomon,  Ch.  10.  In  this  section  it 
is  to  be  noted  that  the  writer  confines  himself  to  those 


The  Kcth2(bi)n  or  Writings  2 1 1 

kings  who  were  prominent  in  religious  matters,  as 
Asa,  Hezekiah,  Josiah,  etc.,  and  closes  his  work  with 
the  welcome  announcement  of  the  end  of  the  captivity. 
This  sketch  will  show  at  once  why  the  book  of 
Chronicles  was  ever  written.  It  is  in  no  sense  a  con- 
densation of  the  fuller  histories  found  in  the  older 
books  from  Genesis  to  Kings,  but  a  history  of  the 
nation  from  a  special  point  of  view.  It  is  not  even  a 
religious  history  of  the  nation,  but  a  history  of  the 
nation  as  illustrated  and  explained  by  the  Temple 
service.  Hence  the  writer  enlarges  upon  the  reigns  of 
those  kings  who  were  most  prominent  in  perfecting 
that  service,  and  even  concerning  them  he  tells  almost 
nothing  except  what  they  did  along  that  line.  He 
dwells  with  delight  on  the  gradual  enrichment  of  that 
service  and  traces  through  generations  the  efforts 
made  to  give  it  an  outward  form  in  some  degree 
worthy  of  the  exalted  character  of  Jehovah,  and  make 
it  such  as  would  give  suitable  expression  to  the  united 
devotions  of  the  nation. 

IV.  Historical  Character 

The  historical  character  of  Chronicles  has  been  fre- 
quently assailed.  In  summing  up  his  review  of  the 
book  in  Hasting' s  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Dr.  Francis 
Brown  says,  "The  late  date  of  Chronicles  presumably 
hinders  it  from  being  a  historical  witness  of  the  first 
order."  As  a  reason  for  such  adverse  judgment,  besides 
his  late  date,  he  gives  the  fact  that  the  author  mani- 
festly writes  for  a  purpose,  he  was  a  man  in  whom  the 
historical  imagination  was  not  largely  developed,  he 
was  too  much  controlled  by  the  teaching  of  the  Penta- 
teuch,  he   was  a   Levite   and  a  musician,   and  these 


212    Outlines  of  an  iTitroduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

habits  and  convictions,  the  result  of  inheritance  and  of 
training,  determined  his  mode  of  writing  history. 

To  all  this  we  reply  that  the  book  does  not  give  any 
just  occasion  for  such  adverse  criticism.  That  the 
writer  lived  some  time  after  the  events  of  which  he 
writes  puts  him  on  a  level  with  most  historical  writers, 
and  that  he  writes  for  a  purpose  does  not  necessarily 
mean  that  he  was  not  honest  in  his  treatment  of  facts. 

What  then  are  the  facts  as  to  the  credibility  of  this 
book? 

So  far  as  the  genealogical  records  are  concerned 
they  agree  in  general  with  the  older  historical  records, 
especially  in  the  Pentateuch,  while  they  present  some 
facts  not  elsewhere  mentioned.  (Bleek's  hit.  to  the 
Old  Test.,  I.  p.  433.)  Passing  to  the  details  concern- 
ing David  and  the  other  kings  there  is  very  much  in 
common,  often  in  identical  language,  with  Samuel  and 
Kings,  while  the  writer  shows  his  independence  by 
omitting  such  facts  as  do  not  suit  his  purpose,  or  intro- 
ducing them  in  a  different  order  of  succession  from 
that  found  in  those  books.  Such  items  as  illustrate  his 
theme  he  gathers  from  many  sources,  but  gives  us 
freely  the  sources  to  which  he  has  gone  for  them. 
That  it  is  not  always  easy  to  reconcile  Chronicles  with 
other  records  we  freely  admit,  but  is  it  necessary  to 
impugn  an  author  because  we  cannot  go  with  him  to 
all  his  authorities  and  see  that  he  quotes  correctly? 
Or  must  we  assume  that  he  is  always  wrong  unless  we 
have  evidence  to  prove  he  is  right?  If  we  had  fuller 
knowledge  of  the  documents,  doubtless  many  of  these 
obscurities  would  quickly  disappear. 

Further,  the  writer  of  Chronicles  makes  a  very 
generous  use  of  authorities  outside  the  historical  books 


The  Kcthubim  or  Writings  213 

we  now  possess.  No  less  than  sixteen  different  titles 
are  mentioned,  most  of  which  are  of  a  historical  char- 
acter, some  of  them  evidently  the  same  as  were  used 
by  the  author  of  Samuel  and  Kings,  others,  apparently, 
later  documents  compiled  from  those  earlier  records, 
and  all  of  them  manifestly  written  by  men  living  in  or 
near  the  period  of  which  they  wrote,  i  Chron.  29:29; 
2  Chron.  9:29;  12:15;  i6:ii;  26:22;  33:19,  etc.  Even 
if  these  were  not  all  independent  works,  and  the  titles 
indicate  that  they  were  not,  still  the  fact  is  plain  that 
the  writer  had  authorities  and  was  not  afraid  to  have 
his  readers  consult  them  to  test  the  accuracy  of  his 
statements  Dillmann  says,  "Chronicles  is  thoroughly 
reliable  history,  being  drawn  from  the  official  records 
of  the  Israelites,  which  explains  the  numerous  instances 
in  which  it  coincides,  even  verbally,  with  Kings;  and 
where  it  differs  in  names,  etc.,  the  discrepancy  can  be 
explained  by  textual  corruptions  either  in  Chronicles 
or  Kings,  or  their  common  source."  (Schaff-Herzog, 
I.  p.  468.) 

That  Chronicles  is  written  in  the  interests  of  the 
Temple  service  is  everywhere  manifest.  (Kautzsch, 
The  Literature  of  the  Old  Testameiity  p.  124.)  A 
strong  priestly  tone  pervades  the  book.  This  is  the 
author's  theme  and  he  has  a  right  to  examine  that 
side  of  his  nation's  history  as  the  authors  of  Samuel 
and  Kings  have  to  examine  other  features.  That  the 
late  time  in  which  he  lived  and  the  experience  through 
which  the  nation  had  passed  since  those  books  were 
written  should  throw  a  different  light  on  many  facts, 
leading  to  a  higher  estimate  of  some  events  and  redu- 
cing the  estimate  of  others,  is  easily  understood.  But 
this  does  not  invalidate  his  work  any  more  than  the 


214    Otitliiies  of  an  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament 

different  estimate  put  upon  certain  facts  in  our  own 
national  history  by  writers  who  live  many  years  apart, 
throws  discredit  on  the  different  writers  who  have 
treated  them.  The  writer  of  Chronicles  is  not  a  his- 
torian in  the  proper  sense  of  that  term,  nor  a  mere 
annalist.  He  writes  with  the  acknowledged  purpose 
of  appealing  to  the  religious  instincts  of  his  people, 
to  quicken  their  love  for  the  sanctuary  where  God  is 
worshiped. 

The  large  numbers  found  in  Chronicles  form  a 
serious  difficulty,  but  this  is  a  question  by  no  means 
peculiar  to  Chronicles.  See  i  Sam.  6:19,  where  the 
number  of  Philistines  slaughtered  because  they  looked 
into  the  ark  of  the  Lord  is  first  given  as  seventy  and 
immediately  after,  without  any  connection,  are  added 
the  words  "fifty  thousand  men."  Josephus,  in  relating 
the  incident,  says  seventy  were  slain.  {Antiq.^  VI. 
I,  4.)  In  I  Sam.  13:5  the  Philistines  are  represented 
as  having  thirty  thousand  chariots.  Both  the  Greek 
translation  of  Lucian  and  the  Peshito  have  thirty, 
which  seems  the  more  likely  number.  Chronology  is 
one  of  the  weak  points  in  all  ancient  records. 

After  giving  these  objections  all  the  weight  they 
deserve,  the  statement  of  Ewald  remains  true:  "We 
should  deprive  ourselves  of  one  of  the  richest  and  old- 
est sources  of  Davidic  history  if  we  failed  to  do  justice 
to  the  very  remarkable  remains  of  the  state  annals  for- 
tunately preserved  to  us  in  the  book  of  Chronicles." 
{Hist,  of  Israel,  Martensen's  Translation,  p.  195.) 

V.  Authorship  and  Date 

The  testimony  of  Jewish  writers  is  in  favor  of  Ezra, 
485  B.  C,  as  the  author  not  only  of  Chronicles  but 


The  Kethnbifn  or  Writi?igs  215 

also  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  The  resemblance  in 
style  between  these  books  gives  much  force  to  the 
argument  that  they  were  all  prepared  by  one  person. 
The  close  of  Chronicles  and  the  beginning  of  Ezra  are 
so  intimate  as  to  indicate  that  no  break  occurs  in 
authorship,  the  one  being  necessary  to  complete  the 
other.  The  same  purpose  is  also  manifest  in  both.  So 
strong  is  this  argument  that  many  modern  critics,  like 
Keil,  accept  it. 

But  the  more  general  opinion  now  is  that  the  book 
is  later  than  Ezra.  The  genealogy  in  i  Chron.  3:19, 
although  interpreted  in  different  ways  by  different 
critics,  seems  to  carry  us  at  least  two  generations, 
beyond  Ezra.  The  addition  of  the  title  "King  of 
Persia"  to  the  name  "Cyrus,"  in  2  Chron.  36:23,  is 
thought  to  indicate  that  the  kingdom  had  been  broken 
up  before  the  book  was  written.  Some  claim  that  the 
general  tone  of  the  book  is  not  that  of  a  contemporary 
witness,  but  of  one  living  after  radical  changes  had 
thoroughly  pervaded  the  life  of  the  people.  Such 
critics  generally  agree  upon  about  330  B.  C.  But 
some  point  between  these  two  extremes  is  more  likely 
to  be  correct.  This  question  is  ably  discussed  in  the 
Presbyterian  and  Refonned  Review  for  July,  1900,  p.  507. 

LITERATURE 

Commentaries:  Lange,  Keil  and  Delitzsch.  For 
date,  see  Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Review^  1900,  p. 
507.  Stanley,  History  of  tJie  J eivish  CJmrch^  II.  p.  461. 
Introductions  of  Driver,  Bleek,  Keil.  Articles  in  Bible 
Dictionaries  of  Smith  and  Hastings  and  in  E?icyclof>(E- 
dia  Britanrdca. 


TO  STIMULATE  LIFE  AND  FAITH 


By  REV.  JAMES  M.  LUDLOW,  D.D. 

Author  of  DEBORAH 

In/^Antil/AC      4r\r      I    EfA    Personal  and  Public.    3d  Editiotu     ismo, 
|lli/dlllVt?9      lUr      lallC    decorated  cloth,  gilt  top.  net,  |i.2S. 

"A  book  of  unusual  excellence,  full  of  the  best  ethical  teaching,  virile,  humane,  Chris- 
tian. Its  'incentives'  are  found  not  in  precept  only,  but  in  examples  that  give  precedents 
for  the  achievements  that  precepts  urge.  These  brighten  every  page  with  anecdote  and 
illustration  frotfi  biography,  science,  literature,  history,  and  personal  reminiscence,  that 
carry  the  readfer  on  to  the  end.  ...  In  form  and  finish  this  book  is  literature,  the  litera- 
ture of  powen,  Indicative  of  this  is  its  appropriate  dedication  to  President  Roosevelt,  'with 
afifectionate  recollection  of  a  boy  in  the  pew  who  has  since,  in  public  life  and  personal  char- 
acter, signally  exemplified  the  precepts  contained  in  this  book.'  The  reader  needs  no  further 
introduction,  and  finds  none." — The  Outlook. 

"Dr.  Ludlow  shows  his  versatility  and  rare  culture  in  this  book  of  essays.  From  the 
first  page  one  is  impressed  with  the  beautifully  clear  "style,  the  brilliant  thought  which 
flashes  through  every  sentence,  and  the  nian-elous  storehouse  of  illustration  from  which  the 
author  draws.  Illustrations,  drawn  from  literature,  art,  science,  and  life,  light  up  every 
page,  and  give  the  work  a  value  apart  from  its  primary  purpose.  The  vital  importance  of 
will  power  in  the  formation  of  character  and  the  incentives  which  lie  back  of  it  as  motives 
to  action,  are  set  forth  with  vigor  and  power." — Christian  Observer. 

"One  of  the  most  notable  books  of  the  season  by  one  of  our  foremost  essayists.  It  is 
the  crown  of  all  his  literary  efforts.  The  theme  is  not  new— no  great  theme  is — but  to 
meet  the  inquiry  of  man's  spirit  for  power  to  work  righteousness  is  to  answer  the  pro- 
foundest  needs  of  the  souL  The  first  chapter,  upon  The  Dangerous  Class,  is  worth  more 
than  a  cash  endowment  to  the  man  who  reads  it  thoughtfully." — The  Interior. 

By  P.  CARNEGIE  SIMPSON,  M.A. 

Tlt^    Cor^4   f\4   OK  Viet    A  Strong  Statement  of  the  Claims  of  Chris- 
1  lie    rCim   ill    WlirioX    tlanity.    3d  Edition.     i2mo.  cloth,  $1.25. 

"I  have  read,  'The  Fact  of  Christ,'  by  Carnegie  Simpson,  and  I  very  much  like  it  It 
is  a  new  and  forfceful  statement  of  the  fact  and  claim  of  Christianity.  To  me  it  is  one  of 
the  finest  statements  of^e  atonement  principle  that  I  have  ever  read.  Of  course  I  have 
long  felt  and  publicly  stated  that  I  hold  no  finally  formulated  theory  of  the  atonement,  and 
have  never  seen  one  that  satisfied  me.  Nothing  I  have  seen,  however,  appeals  to  me  as 
getting  nearer  the  heart  of  the  truth  than  this  statement  by  Mr.  Simpson." — G.  Campbell 
Morgan. 

"We  have  rarely  met  with  a  simpler,  yet  more  striking  argument,  than  that  contained 
in  a  tittle  volume  entitled  'The  Fact  of  Christ.'  Mr.  Simpson's  study  is  a  model  of  sim- 
plicity, straightforwardness,  and  clear  thinking.  The  meaning  of  Christ  is  to  him  a  pivotal 
tact,  m  the  realms  of  both  universal  history  and  of  individual  experience,  and  he  makes 
very  clear  the  irresistible  might  of  its  appeal  to  the  human  heart."— 7"^^  Christian 
Advocate. 

"It  is  the  best  statement  of  the  claims  of  Christianity  to  put  in  the  hands  of  young  men 
and  women  who  may  be  skeptical  or  honestly  inquiring,  that  I  know.  ...  I  do  not  know 
any  book  that  caa  touch  it  in  its  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  students.  .  .  .  There  are  thou- 
sands of  young  men,  who  are  in  doubt,  who  will  be  helped  by  \\.."— Robert  E.  Speer. 

"Here  is  a  book  with  tonic  In  It.  It  Is  thought  out  on  lines  that  are  not  dusty  with 
common  travel  Its  constant  appeal  to  common  experience  makes  the  book  find  constant 
verification  in  the  deepest  consciousness  of  each  reader,  yet  it  is  so  fresh  in  method  that 
one  seems  to  awake  with  every  chapter  to  a  new  aspect  of  a  vital  truth.  It  is  a  book  after  a 
ecientist's  own  heart  in  its  reverence  for  facts." — Post  Graduate  and  Wooster  Quarterly. 

FLEMING   H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

CHICAGO  NEW  YORK  TORONTO  LONDON  COINBURCH 


STRIKING  AND  TIMELY 


Earthly 


Discords  and  How  to  Heal  Them  ^,f;x 


VERITABLE  GOLD  MINES  OF  SUGGESTION 
By  REV.  MALCOLM  J.  McLEOD 

Heavenly  Harmonies  for  Earthly  Living  r,"l%^?tSnet?i'"''^^°^ 

"I  was  so  impressed  with  these  sermons  that  I  requested  copies  for  publication  in  order 
that  they  might  have  a  wider  circulation.  To  me  they  were  spiritual  poetry  in  prose, 
spiritual  music  in  harmon^'- with  man's  inmost  needs  and  God's  provisions  therefor,  spiri- 
tual philosophy  and  experience  made  voca4  with  Christ's  gospel  of  salvation." — From  the 
preface,  by  John  V.  Farwell. 

"The  one  thought  pervading  these  sermons  is  that  harmony  with  God,  as  revealed  by 
Jesus  Christ,  is  the  real  test  and  secret  of  all  true  life  on  earth.  The  preacher  has  an 
exalted  conception  of  the  ability  of  Christ  to  mould  the  life,  and  he  enforces  his  idea  with  a 
directness  and  a  wealth  of  illustration  which  gives  it  great  power.  It  is  remarkably  fresh 
in  treatment  and  full  of  lofty  Christian  sentiment" — Christian  Intelligencer. 

"The  author  has  a  style  so  clear,  clean,  crisp,  and  at  the  same  time  mellpw.  musical 
and  polished,  and  the  book  shows  such  richness  of  illustration  and  quotation,  apt  and  beau- 
tiful,  and  with  such  spiritual  insight  and  aim,  that  the  pages  are  fascinating." — N.  Y. 
Observer. 

nion  volume  to  "Hcav- 
armonies."  i2mo,  cloth, 
net,  75c. 
This  author  has  the  insight  of  Robertson  of  Brighton,  the  soundness  of  Spurgeon,  the 
aptittfde  of  McLaren,  the  diction  of  Parker,  and  the  illustrative  genius  of  Beecher.  Five 
editions  of  his  former  book,  "Heavenly  Harmonies."  have  been  called  for  in  little  over  a 
year,  and  it  is  now  fittingly  supplemented  with  "Earthly  Discords."  with  healing  balms 
suggested. 

"Mr.  McLeod  is  admirable  in  his  selection  of  comparisons,  prolific  in  presentation  of 
Interesting,  telling  points,  modem  and  intelligent  in  his  combining  of  to-day's  scientific 
knowledge  with  the  eternal  truth  on  which  all  sound  preaching  is  based." — New  York 
Journal  American.  ,__^______ 

By  REV.  J.  W.  CONLEY,  D.D. 
Evolution   and   llan    Here  and  Hereafter.     i2mo,  cloth,  g^lt  top,  net,  75c. 

"This  book  is  not  an  attempt  to  harmonize  science  and  religion,  but  is  a  contribution 
to  those  currents  of  thought  which  are  making  for  unity  and  which  give  promise  of  a 
better  day  when  truth,  scientific  and  religious,  will  be  one;  when  the  true  religion  will 
dominate  science,  and  the  true  scientific  spirit  control  religion.  His  presentation  of  the 
case  is  vigorous  and  readable."  — 7l!>/.f^a  Capital. 

"Though  based  upon  a  broad  knowledge  of  the  best  things  that  have  been  written  on 
the  subject.  Dr.  Conley's  work  is  quite  independent,  free  and  full  of  origfinal  glimpses  of 
truth.  It  is  written  in  a  clear  and  simple  style  and  can  be  read  with  pleasure  and  profit 
by  everyone.  For  a  summary  of  the  sanest  and  best  thought  on  this  living  topic,  we  know 
of  nothing  that  surpasses  this  book."— r/i^  Interior. 

'  'Dr.  Conley  has  done  faithful  work  in  this  volume.  He  has  studied  the  subject  care- 
fully, giving  much  time  and  wide  reading  to  its  manifold  phases.  It  is  a  popular  handling 
of  the  theme,  but  it  is  a  fresh  handling.  The  author  has  all  the  while  had  the  ordinary 
Christian  mind  in  view.    It  is  brief  but  comprehensive."— 7"^^  Standard. 

"Dr.  Conley's  view  point  is  that  of  a  devout  theist,  of  one  who  sees  God  at  everj'  step 
of  the  evolutionary  process,  not  interfering  with  the  world-movement  from  without,  but  in 
it  and  of  it,  vitalizing  it  continuously  by  His  presence.  The  volume  is  very  suggestive,  and 
to  an  inquisitive  mind  will  be  highly  stimulating." — Cumberland  Presbyterian  Quarterly. 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

OHICAOO  NEW  YORK  TORONTO  LONDON  EDINBURGH 


The  Pastor  and  His  Pulpit 


Two  Constructive  Treatments 


By  REV.  JAMES  I.  VANCE 

Author   of  "ROYAL  MANHOOD,"  Etc. 
Thfi  Rififi  of  9  Soul    ^  Stimulant  to  Personal  Progress  and  Development.    l2ino, 

"  It  is  a  remarkable  book,  full  of  the  deepest  wisdom.  Dr.  Vance's  literary  standard  is 
classical.  His  style  is  pure' and  peculiarly  his  own.  He  discusses  his  subject  always  as  a 
profound  Christian,  yet  his  method  of  thought  is  so  up-to-date  and  progressive  the  reader 
loses  sight  of  the  author-minister  and  admires  the  philosopher  and  logician.  It  is,  indeed, 
the  two  latter  qualities  which  give  to  the  book  its  convincing  force  and  strength."— AVwar^ 
Advertiser. 

"  Dr.  Vance  shows  how  a  human  soul  clambers  up  the  heights  towards  God.  The 
whole  book  is  the  glad  effort  of  one  who  constantly  sees  before  him  the  reward.  It  is  this 
vigor  of  hope,  this  intense  conviction  that  the  best  is  yet  to  be  that  must  make  this  book  one 
of  strong  inspiration  to  every  reader." — T/ie  Evatigelist. 

"The  book  is  one  of  the  finest  contributions  to  religious  literature  that  has  appeared  in 
recent  times.  It  is  full  of  the  vitality  of  expressionihat  combines  eloquence  and  well-poised 
judgment.  He  has  touched  only  the  every-day  steps  in  the  progress  of  a  soul  toward  higher 
things,  and  the  hindrances  and  backslidings  that  beset  the  way.  It  fulfills  the  highest  mis- 
sion of  a  book  of  its  class  by  being  inspiring." — The  Nashville  American. 

"In  style  these  discourses  are  simple,  clear  and  vivid;  well  calculated  to  be  understood 
to  the  innermost  core.  In  thought  they  are  vigorous  and  fervid.  The  experimental  side  of 
spiritual  growth  is  concretely  set  forth  in  the  picturesque  illustrations.  His  discourses 
make  interesting  and  edifying  rtAd'mg."— The  Interior. 

"A  strong  and  stimulating  book.  ...  Its  conception  of  religion  is  broad  and  manly. 
Its  tone  is  e'arnest.  Its  pointing  to  the  divine  possibilities  of  human  nature  and  its  urging 
is  to  the  aspiration  and  the  struggle  which  gain  the  goa.\."— The  Outlook. 

By  REV.  A.  J.  LYMAN,  D.D. 
Preaching  in   the   New  Age    ^s^^nl"""^  '"  incarnation.     i2mo.  doth,  net 

A  series  of  lectures  on  preaching,  delivered  with  great  acceptance  at  the  Hartford 
Theological  Seminary. 

"The  line  of  suggestion  for  those  lectures  came  to  the  lecturer  from  a  hundred  ques- 
tions and  requests,  more  or  less,  which  .Tt  his  solicitation  were  written  to  him  by  students  of 
various  institutions,  indicating  what  men  now  entering  the  ministry  most  want  to  hear  about 
and  to  know.  The  speaker  thus  comes  to  the  subject  from  the  view  noint  of  the  inquirer 
and  meets  him  with  the  instruction  and  help  of  a  master  teacher.  Tne  lectures  are  made 
available  in  this  form  to  all  students  and  pastors  who  need  such  guidance  and  help  in  their 
great  work." — The  Evangelical. 

"  Dr.  Lyman's  lectures  are  six  in  number  and  avoid  the  purely  literary  form;  but  by 
ithis  very  directness  of  manner  and  approach  they  bring  to  the  audience  they  address,  made 
up  first  of  the  students  of  our  seminaries,  and  then  of  all  preachers  who  are  still  ambitious 
of  the  best  attainment,  help  and  suggestion  of  an  exceedingly  practical  sort.  For  as  they 
grew  out  of  questioning  in  regard  to  the  idenls,  difficulties  and  ambitions  of  students,  so 
they  address  themselves  to  the  problems  of  the  preacher  in  our  own  place  and  day."— 714^ 
Congre^alioHalist  and  Christian  World. 

"  1  he  lectures  are  sane  and  wise,  pointed,  and  pithy.  They  will  take  high  rank  among 
our  books  on  preaching  for  their  practical  helpfulness  and  thoughtfulness.  .  .  .  It  pre- 
sents a  lofty  picture  of  the  possibilities  of  the  modern  pulpit  when  that  pulpit  sticks  toils 
business."  —  The  Lutheran  If^orld.        " 

"These  discourses  are  characterized  by  breadth  of  view,  clearness  of  perception  and 
soundness  of  reasoning.  The  man  in  the  pew  will  find  them  as  fruitful  and  mspirmg  as  did 
the  seminary  students  before  whom  they  were  first  presented."-  Brooklyn  Eagle. 


FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

CHICAGO  NEW  YORK  TORONTO  LONDON  EDINBURGH 


SERMONS  BY  REV.  DAVID  JAMES  BURRELL 


Tll6   Wonderful   TCflChCr    And  what  he  taught    I2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  net  $1.20. 

"  A  careful  and  well  digested  study  of  our  Lord's  various  discourses.  Starting  from  the 
premises  that  Christian,  Jew  and  infidel  bow  with  almost  eaual  reverence  before  him  as  a 
teacher,  Dr.  Burreli  leads  his  readers  upjto  the  question,  'Whence  hath  this  man  this  wis- 
dom'? The  book  will  furnish  inspiration,  perhaps  material,  for  thousands  of  ministers  who 
will  read  it  with  pleasure  and  profit."— 7 A<?  Interior. 

"  Dr.  Burreli  teaches  the  plain,  old-fashioned  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  cannot  be  led 
away  by  any  of  the  newer  lights  in  the  theological  world.  He  is  glad  to  beh'eve  what  his 
fathers  believed  before  him,  and  is  not  seeking  to  hear  nor  to  tell  some  new  thing.  His 
chapter  on  The  Scriptures  is  a  delightful  change  from  the  wearisome  iteration  of  the  utter- 
ances of  German  rationalists  and  their  English  disciples.  ...  A  suggestive  volume." 
— Living  Church. 

"Dr.  Burreli  is  a  safe  man  to  follow.  The  thought  of  the  book  is  manly  and  fresh  and 
vitalizing  and  inspirational.  The  author  brings  to  his  work  a  thofough  scnolarship  and  a 
wide  research.  He  knows  both  the  world  of  men  and  of  books.  His  illustrations  and  quo- 
tations are  new  and  effective." — New  York  Observer, 


And  other  Sermons.    i2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  net  $1.20. 


The  Church  and  the  For! 

"They  are  practical,  religious  sermons.  They  touch  the  needs  of  every-day  life  in  the 
street,  the  office,  the  field  and  the  kitchen.  They  do  not  shun  theology;  ihey  put  literature, 
poetry,  history,  and  poliiics  under  tribute;  but  the  aim,  nature  and  life  of  the  sermon  is  to 
Duild  up  men  into  the  image  of  God,  to  make  them  think  of  duty,  of  immortality  and  of  God." 
—  The  Standard. 

"He  has  a  vigorous  and  forceful  style,  a  thoroughly  orthodox  appreciation  of  divine 
truth,  and  the  habit  of  speaking  directly  to  the  point  and  suitably  for  the  times."— A'ira' 
York  Observer. 

The   Unaccountable    Man    And  other  sermons.    i2mo.cloth,gih  top.  $1.50. 

"  He  gives  men  something  to  think  about  in  every  sermon,  and  puts  it  in  a  clear  way. 
Good,  healthful  reading." — The  Epworth  Herald. 

"Dr.  Burrell's  preaching  is  not  only  strongly  doctrinal;  it  is  strongly  practical  also; 
clear,  straightforward  and  forceful."— 7"/:*^  Outlook. 

By  CEORCE  MATHESON 

AUTHOR  OF  ^MOMENTS  ON  THE  MOUNT,"  "VOICES  OF  THE  SPIRIT,"  ETC. 

Timae  nf  RallPAmonl  Devotional  Meditations.  With  Biographical  sketch  by 
limes   Of   neiiremeni    Re^,  d.  MacMHlaa.    i2mo,"cloih,  net  §1.25. 

"  We  commend  this  collection  of  short  papers  as  unsurpassed  by  anything  of  their  kind. 
What  one  expects  from  such,  one  finds  here— deep  feeling,  clear  insight,  religious  inspira- 
tion. It  is  characteristic  of  these  meditations  that  they  begin  in  reflection,  out  of  which  on 
the  wings  of  thought  devotion  rises  naturally  in  adoration  and  prayer."— TA^  Outlook. 

"  In  this  volume  of  devotional  meditations  the  author's  deep  piety  shines  forth.  And 
knowing  of  his  blindness  makes  these  cheering,  comforting  and  helpful  messages  all  the 
more  touching  and  uplifting.  Each  meditation  is  founded  on  a  text  which  the  author  beau- 
tifully applies  to  the  conditions  in  our  own  Iwes."— Christian  Observer. 

"A  really  good  devotional  book— a  book  which  combines  intellectual  vigor  with  spirit- 
ual insight  and  warmth.  Its  brief  meditations  have  beneath  them  a  solid  groundwork  of 
careful  scholarship,  yet  they  are  aglow  with  spiritual  fervor.  'Times  of  Retirement'  is 
sure  to  find  a  permanent  place  in  religious  literature." — American  Weekly. 

"The  best  book  of  devotional  meditations  that  has  ever  come  to  our  notice.  The  blind 
Scotch  preacher  and  the  Revell  Company  have  done  a  splendid  service  in  giving  them  to 
the  public  in  book  form." — The  Pacific. 


"There  i$  no  more  beautiful  or  suggestive  preacher  of  our  times  than  Rev. 
George  Matheson,  whose  devotional  books  are  the  best  of  their  class,  and  appeal 
to  everyone." 


Works  by  Newell  Dwight  Hillis 


yth  Thousand. 
Ffllfh  flnd   ChdrSCfGr    ^*"^''^^  •"  character  Building.     i2mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  net 

"What  is  it  to  he  a  Christian?  The  hindrances  in  the  way,  the  correspondences  o; 
human  need  and  divine  love,  and,  l.istly,  the  development  of  the  spiritual  nature,  are  here 
shown  with  simplicity  and  persuasiveness."— T"//!?  Outlcwk. 

"His  latest  work,  'Faith  and  Character,'  is  a  group  of  addresses  told  with  that  fine 
force  and  painted  with  th.it  beautiful  imajjery  which  mark  all  Dr.  Hi'lis's  work.  It  is  most 
attractively  brought  o\x\."— Louisville  limes. 

17th  Edition. 

Great  Books  as  Life  Teachers  ?K"ii^op!S.''' ^"' '""^ ''^''''  "'"°* 

"Vibrant  with  a  passion  that  makes  for  righteousness.  Dr.  Hillis  finds  in  the  great 
poems,  essays  and  morals  of  our  time  highest  lessons  of  life,  and  uses  them  as  aids  and  in- 
centives to  higher  Christian  life.  The  book  is  bracing, stimulating,  uplifting."— ^a/Zw/  Union. 

23th  Edition. 

A  Matins  Value  to  SOCiefy    Stud.>^^  i"  Se>^Cul.ure  and  Chara  ,6mo,  cloth, 

"Right  to  the  point  and  as  good  as  gold.  .  .  .  The  author  knows  how  to  reason  as 
well  as  to  preach  and  clothe  his  thoughts  in  beautiful  forms  of  expression.  The  volume  is 
a  storehouse  of  enrichments  for  the  practical  and  spiritual  life,  and  makes  its  points  with 
splendor  of  illustration  and  cogent  reasoning."— 7y/<f  Independent. 

zzd  Thousand. 

The  Invesfmenf  of  Influence  l%tlh!  gMrtot^sr2r'^' '""^  ^'■"'"'  '^ 

"With  wonderful  facility  and  power  the  author  shows  how  great  and  good  men  help 
others  by  their  influence  on  the  atmosphere  in  which  they  move,  by  their  vicarious  lives 
and  by  the  exercise  of  tender,  compassionate  love.  Every  chapter  is  full  of  inspiration, 
and  no  one  can  read  the  volume  without  being  stimulated  to  seek  a  nobler  manhood." — 
Presbyterian  Messenger. 

rgreiOHenS    OT   immOriailiy    /or  U/e's  Guidance  series.     50  cents. 
Studies  "for  the  hour  when  the  immortal  hope  burns  low  in  the  heart." 
"A  stream  of  cool,  refreshing  thought  flowir>g  through  life's  most  fevered  sands."— 7"^^ 
Independent. 

Right  Living  as  a  Fine  Art.  Th'e  Master  of  the  Science  of  Right  Living. 

A  Study  of  the  Ideal  Character,  based         A  companion  to  "  Right  Living  as  a  Fine 
upon    Cfhaiining's  "Symphony  of    Life."         Art."    Decorated  boards,  i2mo,  net  35c. 
l2mo,  decorated  boards,  net  35c. 

How  the  Inner  Light  Failed.  David,  the  Poet  and  King. 

A  Study  of  the  Atrophy  of  the  Spiritual  T»^f  ^T'"^'.r*^r\"^^'^/K°^  ^p'  ^'''^" 

Sense.  ^To  which  is  added  "  How  the  In-  ^"^  ^^   '  ""?.  a  ^V  ■     ul  ^^^T''' 

ner   Light   Grows."    loth  edition.     i8mo,  f'^""      ll"strated  by  Louis    Rhead.    8vo. 

cloth.     Quiet  Hour  Series.    25c.  *''f  ^°'°"'  «"^'^"^  paper,  deckle  edges. 

*"  •'  net  75c. 

The  School  in  the  Home. 
A  Study  of  the  Debt  Parents  Owe  Their     Across  the  Continent  of  the  Years. 

Children.  With  a  list  of  Forty  Great  Chap-  What  Christ  is  to  the  knight-errant  who 

ters  of  the  Bible  and  the  Twenty  Classic         goes  forth  in  quest  of  perfect  manhood. 
Hymns  for  Memorizing.     i6mo, cloth,  50c.  Net  25c 


FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

CHICAGO  NEW  YORK  TORONTO  LONDON  EDINBURGH 


England's  Pulpit  Ciants 


John  Wesley's  Journal 


T h©  HOart  of  introduction  by  Huch   Pmcb 

Hughes;  edited  by  Percy  Liv- 
ingstone Parker.  8vo,  net,  $i.5a 

THE  bicentenary  celebration  of  John  Wesley's  birthday,  to  be  observed  this  year  in 
every  part  of  the  world,  bespeaks  the  world-wide  and  living  interest  in  the  foundei*  of 
Methodism.  It  is  most  fitting  that  his  Journal,  condensed  into  popular  form,  should 
be  issued  at  this  time.  The  famous  old  work  needs  neither  description  nor  commendation. 
Those  who  would  understand  the  religfious  and  social  life  of  Great  Britain  during  the 
eighteenth  century  must  read  it.  Wesley  was  the  incarnation  of  the  strenuous  life;  on 
horseback  he  traveled  more  miles,  spoke  oftener  and  to  more  people,  ,and  extended  his 
active  life  over  a  longer  period  than  any  man  who  ever  lived. 

There  is  no  book  in  existence  that  gives  so  exact  and  vivid  a  picture  of  eighteenth 
century  England  as  this  record  he  kept  of  his  daily  experiences.  It  is  a  work  of  astonishing 
interest,  ranking  in  permanent  historical  value  with  Pepys"  Diary  or  Newman's  Apologia, 
As  heretofore  published  the  Journal  filled  four  volumes,  a  prohibitive  bulk  that  Mr.  Percy 
Livingstone  Parker,  with  scholariy  editing,  has  condensed  to  this  single  cover.  The  intro- 
duction, and  it  is  almost  the  last  thing  that  came  from  his  pen,  is  by  Hugh  Price  Hughes. 
A  most  felicitous  appreciation  by  Augustine  Birrell,  together  with  nineteen  full-page  illus- 
trations taken  from  contemporaiy  paintings  and  sketches,  make  this  edition  par  excellence. 


TLa   I  Sf  A   tkt     IaaanL    Dam1#am        %  ^^'^'  William  Aoamson,  D.D. 
1116    LI16   Of   uOSepn    rarKCr    Pully  illustrated,  large  Svo.  net,  $1.75. 

IT  IS  seldom  that  so  soon  after  a  man's  death  a  really  thorough  and  permanently  valu- 
able estimate  of  his  life  and  work  is  available.  This  biography  is  not  the  product  of  a 
few  months'  hasty  work.  The  author  gives  us  the  fruit  of  many  years  of  preparation. 
In  a  careful,  mature  and  authoritative  work.  In  writing  the  life  of  Joseph  Parker,  Dr. 
Adamson  h&s  lifted  the  veil  from  much  more  than  a  series  of  facts  and  deeds.  The 
elements  of  romance  atid  humor,  together  with  anecdote  and  illustration  which  give  a  biog- 
raphy a  vivid  human  interest,  are  skillfully  interwoven  with  the  narrative.  While  fully 
accomplishing  his  primary  object,  Dr.  Adamson  has  made  his  book  illuminating  and 
informing  on  the  religious  history  of  England  during  the  period  he  covers. 

"No  one  could  meet  Dr.  Parker  and  feel  the  grip  of  bis  hand  and  hear  the  tones  of  his 
voice  without  knowing  that  here  was  an  uncommon  man,  big  in  body,  stalwart  in  opinion, 
earnest  in  purpose,  and  possessing  in  a  high  degree  the  gift  which  we  call  personal  mag- 
netism. .  .  .  Dr.  Adamson's  book  is  an  appreciation.  ...  In  its  pages  we  have  an 
admirable  running  sketch  of  the  man  in  his  environment.  It  contributes  fresh  material 
for  the  history  of  the  times.  Its  atmosphere  is  warm  with  affectionate  admiration,  and  this 
is  what  is  wanted  in  these  days  when  the  hushed  voice  still  echoes  in  the  ears  of  many  who 
listened  to  his  words  and  were  thrilled  and  inspired  by  them  to  nobler  work  for  Christ." 

— Congregationalist. 

"Dr.  Adamson  has  written  the  'Life  of  Joseph  Parker'  in  a  spirit  of  loving  admiration. 
Abundantly  and  well  equipped  for  the  task,  he  has  brought  to  it  a  high  sense  of  its  impor* 
tance  and  value,  and  has  added  to  biographical  Jit^ratu re  a  memoir  which  deserves  to  be 
treasured  as  a  worthy  account  of  the  career  of  one  of  England's  foremost  forces  for  right- 
eousness. ' '  —Boston  Transcript. 

"This  is  a  work  to  be  read  and  read  agaia  Dr.  Parker  was  a  preacher  to  preachers. 
The  story  of  his  life  therefore  should  excite  special  interest  among  such.  It  will  cc«ne  to 
many  a  jaded  ministerial  spirit  as  a  tohic  of  the  highest  order.  To  not  a  few  preachers  its 
perusal  will  come  as. a  new  baptism  from  above.  The  biography  of  such  a  man  as  Dr. 
Parker  needed  a  masterly  hand  and  one  moved  to  its  task  by  an  enthusiastic  conception  of 
the  man,  his  character,  his  calling,  his  convictions  and  his  consecration.  Dr.  Adamson  has 
brought  to  his  task  all  the  needed  qualifications."— A'.  Y.  Observer. 


It  is  doubtful  if  in  his  respective  period  either  of  these  men  had  a  peer  at 
a  pulpit  leader.     These  works  reveal  the  secret  of  their  power. 


By  REV.  M.  P.  TALLING,  Ph.D. 
CwIaimmava  D»4uav    Its  Principles,    Preparation    and'    Practice.     Third  Edition. 

CAiemporB  rrayer  ijmo,  cioth.  giu  top,  net  si.25. 

"  M.iiiy  sensible  suggestions  for  cultivating  the  art  of  public  prayer  are  to  be  found  in 
this  book.  Particularly  useful  to  the  pastor  and  theological  student  is  the  analysis  of  the 
principles  of  spoken  prayer  and  the  treatment  of  the  subjects  that  ought  to  be  included  in 
iC  .  .  .  Any  student  and  any  pastor  might  well  read  it  for  wholesome  criticism  and 
helpful  suggestion.  As  aids  to  dignity  and  variety  of  expression  Mr.  Tailing  has  collected 
at  trie  end  of  bis  book  a  considerable  number  of  prayers  from  ancient  and  modern  sources, 
the  reading  of  which  will  illustrate  many  of  the  principles  previously  laid  down."— /^<f 
Standard. 

"  No  one  reading  the  book  will  doubt  the  spiritual  point  of  view  of  the  author.  He 
always  puts  the  ideal  first.  His  definition  of  prayer  is 'communion  with  God,  in  which 
we  adore  him,  confessing  our  sins,  thank  him  for  mercies  received  and  under  the  Holy 
Spirit's  influence  ask  for  things  agreeable  to  his  will  and  all  in  the  name  of  Christ."  Per- 
haps the  best  feature  of  the  book  is  the  collection  of  mode!  prayers  at  the  tnA."  — North- 
western Christian  Advocate. 

••  This  is  a  book  which  deserves  study  by  all  who  have  the  responsibility  of  conducting 
public  or  social  prayer.  .  ,  .  The  design  of  the  writer  is  to  aid  in  the  preparation  for 
this,  both  in  heart  and  mind  and  expression,  as  being  no  less  important  for  the  non-liturgical 
churches  than  preparation  for  preaching."— 77/<?  Outlook. 

"The  author  of  this  volume  is  an  earnest  and  devout  man,  and  one  well  read  in  the 
literature  of  his  subject.  The  hook  is  of  value  in  the  emphasis  which  it  puts  upon  spiritu- 
ality as  the  soul  of  prayer."— Z/itf  Living  Church. 

By  REV.  GEORGE  A.  MILLER 

Problems  of  the  Town  Church  '^x^^^^^^^^iX.""^'^"'^^'^'^'^  ""°' 

The  Church  in  the  city  has  almost  monopi^lized  the  attention  of  writers  along  the  line 
of  Church  economics  to  the  neglect  of  the  town  church.  Three-fourths  of  America's 
churches  are  in  towns  of  eight  thousand  or  less  and  as  a  consequence  seventy-five  per  cent 
of  the  pastors  must  labor  in  these  town  churches.  Mr.  Miller  has  taken  counsel  with  over 
five  hundred  pastors  of  such  churches  and  in  the  present  volume  presents  a  series  of  sug- 
gestive chapters  that  with  the  help  of  a  live  pastor  will  amount  to  solutions.  The  volume 
deals  fully  with  matters  both  spiritual  and  temporal  and  to  any  church  officers  would  be 
found  most  helpful. 

"A  book  of  practical  advice  to  pastors  and  church  officers  by  one  who  evidently  writes 
from  fruitful  study  and  experience.  It  treats  of  such  practical  matters  as  finances,  social 
work.and  advertisinsr,  of  the  delicate  but  neglected  question  of  music  and  of  spiritual  affairs, 
such  as  evangelization,  the  prayer  meeting,  personal  work  and  Bible  study.  The  author  is 
eminently  suggestive  in  thought  and  pleasing  in  treatment" — The  Advance. 

"  In  suggesting  the  need  of  new  methods  the  writer  does  not  in  any  sense  mean  to  reflect 
upon  the  old  and  tried  ways;  but  he  right  I  v  says  that  the  new  conditions  require  new  methods. 
Tne  twenty  chapters  in  this  book  are  full  of  practical  suggestions  for  the  workers  in  the 
smaller  churches.  They  do  not  furnish  ready-made  plans  in  detail, hut  the  wise  pastor  can 
form  his  own  methods  to  fit  the  peculiar  needs  of  his  work  from  the  suggestions  found 
htTt."— Christian  Observer. 

"A  book  that  should  be  widely  read  by  ministers.  It  begins  with  a  statement  of  actual 
conditions,  such  as  we  all  face,  and  endeavors  to  give  suggestions  that  will  be  practically 
useful  in  the  work.  It  deals  with  the  very  things  that  vex  us  most  and  invariably  sheds 
some  light  on  the  subject." — The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Quarterly. 

"A  score  of  very  practical  chapters.  The  book  is  based  on  a  wide  observation,  and 
Is  full  of  concrete  illustration.  It  will  prove  very  useful.  A  classified  bibliography  is 
appended."— 7"i4/  Outlook. 


FLEMING  H.  R EVE LL  COMPANY 

CHICAGO  NEW  YORK  TORONTO  LONDON  EDINBURGH 


The  Works  of  Rev.  W.  L.  Watkinson 


3   vols., 


Studies  in  Christian  Character  "S  ^^l  S^^lfoJ- 

"He  never  discourses  on  what  are  called  the  topics  of  the  day.  At  the  same  time  his 
popularity  is  universal.  Doubtless  the  responsibility  for  this  lies  largely  in  the  fact  that  an 
intellectual  treat  is  always  to  be  looked  for  at  his  hands.  Also,  that  he  is  unequaled  in  the 
use  of  novel  and  exquisite  illustrations.  Scarcely  another  modem  preacher  draws  from 
Nature's  laboratory'  so  many  charming  and  brilliant  figures  and  emblems.  Scholar  and 
book-worm  he  is  by  nature.  As  a  preacher  of  sweet  reasonableness,  open-eyed  optimism, 
and  deep  and  tender  evangelic  zeal,  and  courageous  intellectual  honesty,  he  has  few 
equals." 

"Mr.  Watkinson  is  one  of  the  foremost  preachers  of  England.  His  style  of  sermon- 
izing is  entirely  free  from  sensationalism  and  yet  full  of  interest,  one  might  almost  say,  of 
fascination.  His  intellectual  grasp  of  the  bearings  of  Bible  truth  is  quite  remarkable.  So 
are  his  penetration  into  the  spiritual  needs  of  men  and  his  ability  to  present  clearly  and  to 
illustrate  aptly  and  abundantly  each  truth  he  undertakes  to  teach."— 7"/i^  Interior. 

"His  paragraphs  teem  with  illustrations,  classical  parallels  and  metaphors  derived  in 
the  most  original  and  striking  manner  from  every-day  life,  or  from  the  phenomena  of 
nature.  .  .  .  He  is  as  philosophical  as  Emerson,  as  original  as  Beecher,  as  evangelical  as 
Spurgeon." — The  Christian  Commonwealth. 

"There  is  wisdom  and  beauty  in  the  pages,  which  are  rich  In  illustratfve  points,  drawn 
from  science  and  art,  history  and  experience." — Tne  Christian, 

jd  Edition. 

The  Blind  Spot,  and  Other  Sermons  .2mo.  doth,  net,  $i.oo. 

"Mr.  Watkinson  is  one  of  the  most  popular  of  the  English  Wesleyan  preachers.  These 
are  thoughtful  and  scholarly  sermons,  and  hold  the  attention  by  directness  of  aim  and 
method  and  chat m  of  style.  They  are  all  sermons  for  the  times,  some  of  them  in  their 
choice  of  subject  and  method  of  application,  all  by  relation  to  the  permanent  needs  and 
longings  of  the  human  heart." — The  Congregationalist. 

"Eighteen  excellent  sermons,  not  too  long,  learned  but  not  tiresome,  full  of  evangelical 
truth  and  piety.  These  sermons  are  delightful  reading,  and  would  be  a  help  to  clergymen 
who  are  getting  into  a  rut  in  preaching.  The  author's  knowledge  of  natural  history  makes 
his  illustrations  fresh  and  attractive." — The  Living  Church. 

"These  are  sermons  for  the  times.  They  deal  with  man  as  he  is.  There  is  no  uncer- 
tain note  in  these  messages,  which  demand  action  as  well  as  thought.  The  author  has  a 
directness  of  aim,  as  well  as  a  charm  of  style,  which  hold  the  attention  undivided." 

—  1  he  Christian  Century. 

"Mr.  Watkinson  shows  an  tincommon  power  of  drawing  fresh  and  instructive  lessons 
from  familiar  texts."— T)*^  Outlook. 

id  Edition. 

The  Bane  and  The  antidote,  and  Other  Sermons  ""°et!$!!oa 

"Once  or  twice  a  year  I  look  to  read  a  volume  of  sermons,  to  see  what  other  men  are 
thinking  about,  how  they  interpret  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  whether  the  leaders  are 
drifting  or  steering  toward  a  port.  With  this  purpo.se  in  view,  I  have  read  Dr.  Watkin- 
son's  new  volume,  "The  Bane  and  the  Antidote,"  and  also  the  volume,  "The  Blind  Spot." 
Both  books  are  suggestive  and  stimulating,  fre.sh,  clear,  strong,  packed  with  information, 
most  helpful  from  every  view  point.  This  gifted  author  has  what  our  poor  world  needs — 
vision." — Newell  Dwight  Nil  lis. 

"He  draws  upon  Nature  for  charming  hints  and  emblems.  His  illustrations  are  never 
hackneyed  or  labored,  because  he  has  the  vision  of  the  scientist  and  the  intuition  of  the 
prophet  His  homilies  do  not  weary,  because  everywhere  they  sparkle  with  epigram,  and 
are  enriched  with  aHegonr,  and  he  treats  with  fine  literary  taste  the  most  important  prob- 
lems of  human  M.I&." —Midland  Christian  Advocate. 


"One  of  the  Most  Powerful,  Cultured  and  Uniformly  Successful  of 
England's  Present  Day  Preachers" 


Date  Due 

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Outlines  of  an  introduction  to  the  Old 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00011   8069 


